Vitaly Petrov plagued by KERS and radio issues during the race

Vitaly Petrov has confirmed he was plagued by KERS and radio issues throughout the 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix, the latter leading to the Russian driver incurring a drive-thru penalty as he was allegedly unable to hear the blue flag calls. However, the Caterham driver was still able to finish 17th in the race, after a tough weekend at Suzuka.

After miraculously avoiding the first lap carnage which ensued ahead of him, Vitaly Petrov was able to settle into a decent rhythm towards the back of the pack. However, as the race progressed the Russian driver lost the ability to use KERS, before then loosing radio communication with the pit wall. This naturally put Petrov at a disadvantage, especially when it came to adhering to the blue flag calls. Due to Petrov’s inability to hear his team informing him of the blue flags as the leaders came through, he was issued with a drive-thru penalty towards the end of the race.

“My first stop was fine but after that we lost KERS and that obviously cost me time.” Explained Vitaly Petrov, after a difficult Japanese Grand Prix. “I also had a problem with the radio and couldn’t hear the blue flag calls and that ended up with the drive-through penalty. From where I started on the grid and with the KERS issue I think I probably got as much as I could out of the car today. It’s been a bit of tough weekend but it’s good to see the team working so hard to keep pushing us forwards and next week in Korea we have another chance to keep fighting.”

Both Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov enjoyed a relatively successful race in comparison to Singapore last time out, and will be hoping they can continue doing so next time out at the Korean Grand Prix. Regardless of Caterham’s improved competitiveness at Japan, they remain behind Marussia in the Constructors’ Championship.

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