Sunday: Two retirements for Team Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen – abandonment

A weekend with highs and lows for me. I struggled to find the right balance during free practice, everything went well in qualifying where I managed to set a really good lap after finally finding the right settings. I started the race well and was close to the pace of Maldonado, Sutil, Pérez and the guys around me. Until the first stops, I was able to fight with them and maintain the gap with those behind. We came in to fit the intermediates when the rain started again on two-thirds of the track during the race, then I came back to fit the super softs shortly after, but I received the order to shut down the engine due to a water leak. After seeing that we were on race pace in the middle of the pack, I’m not disappointed – it’s another step forward for the team.

Jarno Trulli – retirement

« My Hungarian misfortune struck again! The car was good all weekend, and even though I didn’t have the best start, I was really enjoying myself. I overtook Timo very early and had a good first stop, but it seems a water leak prematurely ended my race. Despite that, the step forward we made here is really positive and I am sure we will be fighting again after the break at Spa ».

Thierry Salvi (Renault)

« It was a somewhat tough race for us. Heikki had a good start and was well positioned in the pack, but reliability issues ruined his race and Jarno’s. We obviously would have liked to cover the entire race distance, so we will need to ensure that we do not encounter this problem again. »