Gearbox problem for Sutil
The Force India Formula One Team's Canadian Grand Prix ended in a disappointing double retirement today at a scorchingly hot Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Adrian Sutil's race ended on lap 13 with a gearbox issue, while Giancarlo Fisichella's was halted on lap 51 with a spin and anti-stall problem.
The duo nevertheless demonstrated a strong performance and were once again able to keep pace with the field. Before his first stop, Giancarlo was into eighth position following the first safety car period, however a stall in his pit stop due to low fuel pressure on lap 30 dropped him to 17th and the rear of the field. The Italian however put in a series of quick laps to close the gap to 16th, but his race came to a premature end under 20 laps from the flag fall.
The team will now focus on an improved showing in Magny-Cours, France, for the eighth event of the year in just two weeks' time.
Adrian Sutil: "Another disappointing day. This time the gearbox was a problem, I couldn't shift into second or third gear and didn't have any speed anymore and I had to stop after 12 laps which was frustrating. The track was not too bad at the start, it looked more difficult than it was but the hairpin was quite OK. It was very dirty at the beginning, but at that stage I think our pace was quite good. I just couldn't find a way to get past the two Toyotas, which was a bit of a problem as they were holding me up, but the pace was there, we just finished too early with this technical problem."
Giancarlo Fisichella: "It was a difficult race and the grip level was poor as the track was breaking down and at the end it was like being in a four wheel drive car. I think our pace was there, particularly in the second stint, but during the first pit stop I had a problem with the stall and dropped right back. We thought there would be a safety car just before my second stop, but it never came, but at the end I had some problems and had to stop anyway. It's quite disappointing."
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "A frustrating race for Force India and very disappointing not to get two cars to the flag. From our starting positions of 16th and 17th we had a good race pace. It was a shame that Adrian stopped with a gearbox problem so early on as he was very competitive with the group in front. We've yet to identify the reasons exactly. Giancarlo's pace in the first stint was also very good and we made a call to leave him out during the first safety car period, mainly to get track position. On his pit stop we decided to leave the fronts on and only change the rears, but as he pulled away he had an engine stall, which was very strange as we haven't seen it before, and it compromised his race. The decision on tyres turned out to be right though as his pace on the second stint was actually very, very good. We made a call to bring him in again when Alonso spun on lap 44, hoping that a safety car would come out, but it didn't materialise and we couldn't pick up any positions. Sadly a spin then ended his race. We will just have to move onto Magny-Cours now and hope for better there."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director: "Sadly another disappointing weekend. Unfortunately we had two mechanical issues that ended both Adrian and Giancarlo's races, but we will analyse why and move on. We have to keep these things in mind but look forward to the next race in France and not let this disappointment get us down. I do think there are however many positives we can take over to France; Giancarlo was very competitive in his last stint and overall we have been very close to the midfield all weekend. After his fine performance in Monaco, Adrian also had a good weekend here in Canada too as he kept pace with Giancarlo throughout. It was just a shame that we could not translate this performance into a result here today."
