United States GP: A double retirement that does not suit Force India’s interests
The Sahara Force India team did not finish with either of its two cars, complicating its battle for the Constructors' Championship. Sergio Perez eliminated himself following contact with Räikkönen and Sutil. Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, fell victim to his Mercedes engine block.
Sergio Perez hoped to finish the United States Grand Prix in the points, but that was not the case. Indeed, the Mexican saw his race end as early as the first lap following two contacts, the first with Räikkönen’s Ferrari and especially the second with Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, which led to the retirement of both men and the intervention of the safety car.
What happened today is really unfortunate. I overtook Adrian at turn 15 when he left the door open, so I went for the inside. Then Adrian started to close the door and I had to try to brake later than him. By doing so, I couldn’t avoid contact with Kimi, which also caused contact with Adrian. I just didn’t expect Kimi to be in that position, explained the Mexican after the race.
If his accident prevented him from continuing, it was also a bad thing for his teammate at Force India, Nico Hülkenberg, who was following him during this accident: « I lost power so the team told me on the radio to stop the car. Even before that, it hadn’t been an easy race with a complicated first lap. I was right behind Sergio and Adrian [Sutil] when they made contact, and Sergio’s front wing went under the front of my car. I ran over it, which caused damage to my car and the tires. I dived into the pits and lost positions. »
The German’s race ended after 16 laps and he hopes to bounce back at the next Grand Prix, in a week’s time: « It’s always disappointing to finish the race with a retirement but luckily the next race is in 7 days so I’ll be back in the car soon. Sao Paulo is one of my favorite races and let’s hope we have a better weekend there. »
This double abandonment does not help the Indian team in the drivers’ championship in its fight for the 5th place against McLaren – which now has a 24-point lead over its Silverstone rival – but Vijay Mallya remains hopeful with two races still to go: « Today’s result complicates our battle for 5th place in the [constructors’] championship, but we will continue to fight until the very end. There are still two races left, one of which has double points, and today proved that a bad weekend can happen to anyone. »
