Frustrating race for Williams
It was a frustrating day for the Williams F1 Team as both drivers fell outside the points. Nico Rosberg was in a podium-place position until he jumped the kerb at the pitlane exit and received a drive-through penalty. Rosberg was unable to recover and finished the race in 11th place, 2 places behind team mate Kazuki Nakajima.
Having secured P3 on the starting grid and wrestling another position off the start line at the beginning of the race, Nico Rosberg was well set for a repeat of his second place finish at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix when a transgression relegated him to the rear of the field. Jumping the kerb at the pitlane exit, he was unable to recover the car into the pitlane before the white line that drivers must observe before rejoining the race. That unfortunately earned him a mandatory drive-through penalty, which coincided with a safety car period. This sequence of events consigned him to an unrecoverable position towards the rear of the field. Despite the disappointment, Nico’s pace in Q2 as well as in the race itself was encouragement for the team to take forward to next weekend’s race in Japan.
Kazuki Nakajima: "It was a difficult race and I think I did the best job I could, but it was disappointing not to be able to claim any points. There seemed to be a possibility in the last stint as the car in front of me was struggling with its tyres but as much as focus on the car ahead, I also had to defend from behind, so it was tough to find the balance. The car has been good here and hopefully we can carry this with us to Japan."
Nico Rosberg: "Today’s outcome was hugely disappointing. I made an unnecessary mistake by braking too late and running over the white line on the pitlane exit. Then the safety car came out at the worst possible moment. It left me with a really horrible feeling, also for the team, knowing that I wouldn’t be second when I have served my drive-through penalty and I would have to spend the rest of the race at the back. The team gave me such a good car this weekend having put more effort into development than anyone else, and I am now determined to use this to best advantage in Japan."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Nico had a really good start and showed strong pace all the way to the first pit stop. He had a good strategy for the remainder of the race which was going to put him solidly into P2, but unfortunately he had a problem at the end of the pitlane which cost him a drive-through penalty. It was a real shame because he had done everything right in practice, qualifying and the race, and then had a small mistake that was very costly. We then called him in early for his second stop to vary the strategy in case of another safety car. Kazuki had an uneventful race, but the car pace here has been good all weekend, our upgrades are delivering and we have some more to add to the car for the races ahead."
