Sunday: Fright for Petrov, satisfaction for Heidfeld
After difficult qualifications for Renault, a better result seemed possible during the race, until the incident on lap 69 in which Vitaly Petrov was slightly injured. Nick Heidfeld nonetheless managed to finish in the points.
Nick Heidfeld – 8th
« Above all, I am happy that Vitaly is doing well. I heard that he had no fractures, which is good news. He was well-positioned and was unlucky to be involved in this accident.
As far as I’m concerned, the start of the race was good, I almost overtook a Force India, but I didn’t succeed. When the safety car came out, I was called into the pits late, but I still managed to dive in, which helped me a lot. It was a tough weekend for us, but getting four points is a good thing given my position on the grid.
Vitaly Petrov – Withdrawal
« First of all, I want to thank all my fans for their messages of support, the circuit’s medical teams, the hospital for their efficiency and hospitality, and the team for their attention. It was quite a shock, and I didn’t really feel my legs after the accident. I thought it would be better to let the medical team get me out of the car because it was difficult for me to move, and my legs were stuck in the cockpit. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I was in a lot of pain inside the car. It’s really a shame since I had a good start that allowed me to gain two positions. After my pit stop, I got stuck behind Kamui Kobayashi – who was very slow – and Adrian Sutil – who was defending his position too aggressively – but I was careful because it’s very difficult to overtake on this track. Then, I got caught in the accident. It’s really a shame; we could have scored important points this weekend. I’m looking forward to Montreal. We need to sort out our qualifying issues, and we will get good results since our race pace is generally very good ».
Eric Boullier
To be honest, it was a disappointing day. First of all, we are happy to announce that Vitaly is fine and has no fractures. He has a sore ankle, but he’s already joking, and the hospital should discharge him in a few hours. Regarding the race result itself, we are disappointed because we could have finished fourth. Our tires were fresher than Sutil’s and Kobayashi’s, so we could have caught them, but they managed to pit when the safety car came out. Nick moved up to tenth position, which wasn’t bad, and finishing eighth is a good thing considering his starting position. There was still room to score more points.
