Williams lose out in final laps of race
Rain, a series of safety cars, racing incidents and darkened conditions towards the end of the race, all conspired to create a memorable first motor race in South Korea this afternoon. Both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg survived the tricky conditions to take the chequered flag in seventh and tenth, leaving the Williams team to return from Yeongam with points finishes for both FW32s.
Rubens Barrichello, FW32-04 / CA206:
"It was a tough race, but we were competitive today. I was lucky with the timing of the safety car and we were running in a good position right up until the closing stages. Unfortunately, I just ran out of tyre in the last five laps which cost us two places in the end. It was very difficult out there today so I’m pleased we managed to complete the race."
Nico Hulkenberg, FW32-01 / CA223:
"We did everything right today; we simply had some bad luck. I came in just before the safety car was released which cost me time and lost me a place. We managed to claw back position and were running in sixth towards the end of the race, but then my engineer told me I had a slow puncture. I couldn’t keep running until the end as the car was totally undriveable. We had to pit and that cost us a big result today."
John Russell, Senior Systems Engineer:
"The inaugural Korean GP proved to be a very eventful race. Finishing the race with both cars in the points is a solid result, but seventh and tenth is not wholly representative of our competitiveness this weekend. While looking good for fifth place, Rubens suffered rear tyre wear and a loss of grip. Keeping it on track to the end put him in seventh. Nico was unfortunate to pick up a slow puncture on his left rear in the closing stages as it forced an unscheduled stop which dropped him from P6 to P11. He recovered well, though, passing a Toro Rosso on the last lap to take tenth. Everyone in the team worked well today."
