Belgian Grand Prix, One race, 24 different reactions (Part 2)
Force India
Adrian Sutil was perhaps the most improved driver this weekend. Considered nothing more than the underdogs, the Force India team pulled off a shocker in the second practice session as Sutil finished 2nd after Alonso. Qualifying was another competitive affair as the driver finished 8th and subsequently an even improved 5th at the end of 44 laps. The German driver conceded that it was the best they could do. He also talked about how tricky it got driving when the rain hit, some patches of the track were heavily soaked while others experienced light showers. With the current upgrades (f-ducts most particularly) working well, Sutil has his sights set for Monza.
Tonio Liuzzi started off with how pleased he was getting a point on as demanding a track as Spa. He conceded that it was pleasing to be back in a scoring position since the Canadian Grand Prix back in June. The Italian recognized how hard the team has been pushing this season and to get both cars into the top ten was the result of Force India’s persistence this term.
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg, who finished sixth, making up two places as the safety car lights went out in lap 41, believed that it was mainly due to his car’s rain set-up in the end. Sixth place was the best the Mercedes could possibly give them this weekend. The youngster relished the duels with team mate and seven-time World champion, Michael Schumacher, and touched upon the mutual respect between both drivers. Nico got one up on Schumi as he overtook him in the closing stages to gain the sixth spot.
Michael Schumacher was reasonably happy with the race, finishing 7th. The German pointed out, that considering where he and Rosberg started, the team can be relatively pleased. Finishing sixth and seventh isn’t that shabby after starting the race 14th and 21st on the grid. The veteran realistically pointed out that had it not been for the rain, his team would have stood little chance as the top runners would have finished stronger than they did. All in all, Spa turned out to be nearly as enjoyable as the Mercedes GP driver had hoped for.
Sauber-BMW
Kamui Kobayashi had a fine race, finishing 8th. The Japanese driver commended the team for making all the right decisions in selecting the right tyres at the right time, and for judging the pit stops to perfection. A strong front from the team was required for what was one of the most difficult races so far this season. Track conditions kept on changing from lap to lap, the Sauber driver concluded that he was glad he got the car home without making any major mistakes on the wet track.
Pedro de la Rosa and team made a little gamble switching to full wet weather tyres even though the rain wasn’t heavy enough. The former McLaren Mercedes driver admitted that the lack of water was eating up those tyres pretty fast, but was humble enough to admit that it wasn’t entirely due to tyre-ware that led him to go off the track and into the gravel while trying to catch Vitaly Petrov. In the end, the Spaniard concluded that the tyre gamble was the right move for him, he had to take his chances.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari, called it the most exciting race of his life. The Toro Rosso driver was extremely happy on adding another point to his name. He did cross the line in 10th, however, he was given a 20 second penalty at the end of the race which dropped him from 10th to 13th after the stewards adjudged him taking a ‘short-cut’ cutting the chicane to overtake Liuzzi. Either way, Alguersuari couldn’t wait for Monza and a chance to perform in front of all the people from the factory, who would be there to watch the race.
Sebastien Buemi believed that he had a reasonable chance to get into a point scoring position. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side as his Toro Rosso was hit in the back by Liuzzi at Les Combes on the opening lap, cutting his left rear tyre and damaging his diffuser. Trying to balance the STR05’s unstable behaviour by doing all sorts of things with the car controls like playing with the front wing settings and diffuser, but his improvisation reaped him little reward.
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