Nothing but disappointment for Red Bull
It was a difficult and especially disappointing day for the Red Bull Racing Team. Home driver Mark Webber was forced to retire after the rear of his RB4 was clipped by another driver, team mate David Coulthard got hit by Massa and the Scotsman too was forced to retire the race. The team can only hope for better fortunes next week at Malaysia.
David Coulthard, (Finish Position DNF, Start Position: 8th)
"I can understand that Felipe (Massa) was in a quicker car and was trying to overtake, but you've got to have your car alongside to pass, especially in a corner like Turn one, you can't just ram into them. Felipe took a lunge from too far back and Turn one is a corner where you have to turn in early - it's not like Turn three, which is a hairpin and door's open for a long time. I screwed up last year when I tried a speculative move on Alex (Wurz), but I took full responsibility for it and I would expect Felipe to do the same today."
Mark Webber, (Finish Position DNF, Start Position: 14th)
"It's a real shame, I'm very disappointed. I had a reasonable start into Turn one, I was behind Kimi (Raikkonen) going around the outside, then I think someone hit Jenson (Button) on the inside and I had to go on to the grass. I had a good run down to turn three, but then (Kazuki) Nakajima came along side with no front wing. I thought 'this will be interesting', - he had a bit of a moment and he and (Anthony) Davidson were very tight next to me. I was trying to give them as much room as I could and, although I didn't really feel any contact at all, I think the left rear of my car got a clip from Davidson."
Christian Horner: "A massively disappointing race, especially for Mark at his home Grand Prix. Unfortunately, it was one of those Sunday afternoon's when nothing seemed to go right for us, although we weren't alone in that respect. Thankfully the next race is only one week away, so we'll look forward to leaving Australia tonight."
Fabrice Lom, Renault Principal Engineer, Track Support: "It was a pure race technically, we suffered two accidents due to the fault of others, but that is racing... We can see that the new rules have put some fun and hazards into the race! We have to deal with that - the best drivers will be on the track at the end of the races and we will be among them."
