Sunday: Schumacher close to the podium
Fourth after having long hoped for a podium, Michael Schumacher demonstrated all his class in difficult conditions. The race was more mixed for Nico Rosberg.
Michael Schumacher – 4th
« I leave this race with « one eye laughing and one eye crying » because I don’t know if I should be happy or sad. Having been second at the end of the race, I obviously would have liked to finish in that position and be on the podium. But even though it didn’t work out at the end of the Grand Prix, we can be happy with the result and the great battle we produced. A good strategy after the red flag made this possible, and I am very happy for the team. I also want to extend my best compliments to the spectators who stayed with us for so long in these difficult circumstances and even boosted our spirits. It was impressive, and I am happy to have been able to play my part in entertaining them. »
Nico Rosberg – 11th
« It was a very demanding race this afternoon. Overall, everything was going well with my car and, in the end, I was in the points but I made a mistake at the hairpin on lap 66. I tried to overtake Kobayashi, I was very close to him in turn 10, he slowed down when I didn’t expect it, I collided with him from behind and damaged my front wing. The same thing happened to me, but in reverse, when Sutil touched me. I could have been less conservative in my pit stops today, stopped earlier, but it’s always difficult to assess the risk. Although my result isn’t that good, I’m sure it was an exciting race for the fans watching on TV. We have positives to take away from this weekend and we will look to produce a solid performance in Valencia ».
Ross Brawn
« Our strategy with the intermediate tires in the first part of the race did not work, and we were stuck in 11th and 12th place when the race was interrupted, but we made a good comeback. Michael stopped to fit intermediates on lap 34 when the safety car came in, allowing him to gain several positions, and Nico did the same two laps later. It was an exciting race, and Michael drove admirably in the second part, doing important work with the intermediate and super soft tires, but was unable to keep the faster cars, particularly Jenson and Mark, at bay when they used the DRS. Nico had a more difficult race: he was hit by Sutil but came back after that and seemed set to finish in the points until he lost his damaged wing in the last lap, which left him in 11th place. Overall, it was an exciting and extremely challenging race but ultimately positive for our team ».
