It's disappointing to slip back so close to finish: Sutil
Silverstone: His seventh place finish helped Sahara Force India gather eight valuable world championship points but driver Adrian Sutil was still left disappointed as he could not make it to the podium after running at the third position at one stage here.
Sutil was running third after beginning the race from sixth position but lost his way in the last six laps as Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton all passed him. While Sutil picked up six points, Paul Di Resta fetched two more points after signing off at ninth places at the dramatic race, which was overshadowed by a dangerous spate of Pirelli tyre failures.
"The start of the race was looking very good because we were always planning a two-stop strategy and I was up into fourth on lap one. It was a challenge to look after the tyres and keep them going, but the main problem for me was the second safety car because the cars around me chose to pit," Adrian said after the race.
"I stayed out and was third at the restart, but the cars behind with fresh rubber had a big advantage and were able to overtake me quite easily in the final few laps.
"It's disappointing to slip back so close to the finish, but seventh place gives us some good points so we can be happy with the result," he added.
His teammate Paul Di Resta of Scotland, who fought his way to ninth after starting last on the grid in the incident-filled race, said it was not the "cleanest" race but he was happy to gather two points.
"That wasn't the cleanest of races for me, but given everything that's happened this weekend I think we can feel satisfied with two points today," he said.
"It was a bit of a scruffy race because I lost my front wing trying to get ahead of Nico [Hulkenberg], so we chose to change it when the safety car came out, which probably cost me a couple of positions.
"Towards the end of the race I had fresh tyres, and was closing in on Ricciardo, but I ran out of laps and he was just out of reach. So a weekend of highs and lows, but it's definitely good to continue our points run and have another double points finish for the team."
Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director, said he was satisfied with the performance of his drivers. "Before the race we set the target of getting two cars home in the points, so I'm pleased that we managed to achieve this objective. It means we've scored points at the last six events," Mallya said.
"Adrian's race was very strong and for a while it looked like we might be challenging for a podium. However, the two safety car periods kept the pack close together and limited the benefits of his two-stop strategy.
"Paul's race was very busy, but once again he battled his way through to the points and showed the speed of the car. With eight points scored today we continue to strengthen our hold on fifth place in the championship and head to Germany determined to keep the momentum going," he added.
It was third consecutive double points finish for Sahara Force India (59) as it collected eight points to increase its lead over sixth-placed McLaren (37) by 22 points.
Post new comment