Double DNF for Sauber
In China both the BMW Sauber F1 Team’s cars retired. Kamui Kobayashi was out of the race on lap one when he was an innocent victim of someone else’s accident. Pedro de la Rosa had managed to climb up to fourth in difficult track conditions when he stopped with a technical failure on lap eight. The cause of this failure still needs to be analysed.
Pedro de la Rosa: DNF on lap 8 (position 4) C29.04 / Ferrari 056 “Of course I am deeply disappointed. We made all the right tyre decisions. I started on slicks and managed to stay out in the drizzle. I enjoyed overtaking and then I was in fourth. When you are in a situation like this you really have to finish. We missed a great chance today. I don’t know what exactly happened. I felt there was something wrong with the engine and then stopped in turn nine.”
Kamui Kobayashi: DNF on lap 1 C29.01 / Ferrari 056 “It is such a shame. The track conditions were difficult today and this always opens up chances, even if you are not high up on the grid. I’m sure we would have scored points today. My start was good, but after a few corners Vitantonio Liuzzi’s car just flew into mine and I was out.”
James Key, Technical Director: “Obviously it was a very exciting race today for watching, but frustrating for us. Kamui was unfortunately the victim of an accident that was happening behind him, and was caught out by a car coming across the track. It was not his fault. Pedro was driving an excellent race, he made a great call on the tyres and the team went with that decision. He stayed on the dry option tyres while others changed to wets, which was a very good call by the driver and the team. He ended up fourth - looked fairly strong, was battling with Vitaly Petrov and the lap times were good. Sadly there was a problem with the car. It is engine related but we can’t say whether it’s a specific engine problem or a problem related to the chassis. We still need to analyse that when the car comes back. It was a points’ opportunity today, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
