Double finish for Spyker

For the second consecutive race, the Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team has achieved a double finish, with Adrian Sutil 13th and Christijan Albers 14th respectively. In a race of attrition that saw one third of the field fail to finish, both Spykers ran reliably to the finish to secure the team’s best result of the season so far. With this result, the team moves into 10th position in the constructors’ championship.

Adrian Sutil had a consistent race, lapping within half a second of the Aguri of Anthony Davidson and the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher for the first half of the race. As more competitors dropped out, Adrian moved up the order to 13th by his first pit stop on lap 23. In his second stint, the 24-year-old German then kept the Honda of Jenson Button at bay until a stall during his second pit stop on lap 47 dropped him back behind the Briton. Undeterred, Adrian pushed hard to keep in touch with Button and finish the race a solid 13th position overall.

Christijan Albers also showed well, putting in similar lap times to Adrian throughout the race. His race was however interrupted by a drivethrough penalty on lap 33 for failing to observe blue overtaking flags and, like Adrian, a stall in the pits on his second stop on lap 48.

The team’s test programme will continue next week in a four day test at Paul Ricard to prepare for the forthcoming Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix.

Adrian Sutil (car 20, F8-VII/03):
13th 1:31:49.413 63 laps (+2 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:25.191
"It was a good race for me. It was important that we finished. I did very consistent lap times compared to the other teams in front of us, which shows we can now follow cars in front and put them under some pressure – this can only be good for future races. The first pit stop was OK, but in the second the engine stalled. I only lost three or four seconds but it was enough to lose the place, but I’m pleased with the performance and looking forward to Monaco, where I’ve also raced before."

Christijan Albers (car 21, F8-VII/02):14th 1:32:25.252 63 laps (+2 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:25.260
"Once more we’ve got to be pleased we got two cars to the finish, but we’ve got to now focus on really getting up there with the other teams. The beginning of the race was good, I could keep up with others, but it was disappointing to get the blue flag penalty and then have the stall in the second pit stop. I think we’re moving forward though and with the test next week in Paul Ricard, we can hope for a better result out in Monaco."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer "Again it was a step forward for us in getting both cars home. It was a relatively trouble-free race, although stalls for both drivers in the second pit stops and Christijan’s drivethrough penalty cost us a little bit of time and, for Adrian, also lost us a position to Button. Our pace was however more competitive than in previous races and we had good reliability, so now we have to concentrate on bettering the overall package and getting new parts on the car that will improve our speed relative to the others."

Colin Kolles, team principal and managing director "The whole team worked hard and did a great job this weekend. We’ve moved forward not only in pace, but also in the championship – going up a place is a just reward for all the hard effort for the team."