Sauber driver errors a 'missed opportunity'
The Monaco Grand Prix ended early for both Sauber F1 Team drivers. On lap 24 Adrian Sutil lost control of the car when braking coming out of the tunnel and hit the guard rail. Esteban Gutiérrez was in the top ten when he touched the guard rail on lap 60 in the Rascasse corner and spun.
The team noted that "the Sauber C33 had proved to be competitive, which opened the possibility of scoring points today. However, this opportunity was missed".
Esteban Gutiérrez, car #21, Sauber C33-Ferrari (Chassis 02/Ferrari): “Unfortunately, I could not finish the race. It was probably the most painful mistake in my career. I touched the guardrail in Rascasse on the entry to the corner and spun, that was the end of the race. Today we had a great chance to earn some points. The start was great, as I was able to gain some positions during the first few laps which gave me a good basis for our race strategy. During the race I needed to take care of the tyres, but we also had to push because we had quick cars coming from behind. It is very disappointing. I really want to say sorry to everyone in the team because they all did a great job today.”
Adrian Sutil, car #99, Sauber C33-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari): “It is a pitty that my race ended so early. I had quite a good start. In turn 5 one of the other drivers spun, and as I came around the corner many cars were suddenly stopping in front of me. I had front wing damage which forced me to make a pitstop. I went back onto track almost at the backend of the field, but I was able to gain some positions lap by lap. Unfortunately, coming out of the tunnel I made a mistake when braking, lost the rear and crashed into the guardrail. Certainly, I am very disappointed and I also feel sorry for the whole team.”
Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “This was a very unlucky way not to finish this race. We definitely had the chance to score points, but we are leaving Monaco empty handed. Adrian and Esteban were setting good lap times and were able to keep up with competition. This shows that the car was absolutely competitive today, and is important for the whole team to know. Of course, it’s very regrettable to miss such good opportunities in this way.”
Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “It was an eventful race, which is quite normal for Monaco. Obviously for our team it was a big disappointment, because we were competitive. We were more or less able to keep with the pace of a number of competitors, which was really positive. Today we were in a position to play a role in this race, but then the incidents happened, and we are left without points. Adrian damaged his front wing on lap one as a result of the Sergio Perez crash. We then changed his strategy, which worked well. Rather than doing a long stint on the soft tyres, we put him on the super soft. But then he lost the car under braking. Esteban had an issue with his starting position, but, apart from that, everything went according to plan before he hit the barrier and had to stop. We had the chance to score points today, so the end was really disappointing. The positive thing was that we were competitive. That’s what we have to build on.“
