Formula One - Italian Grand Prix: 1 race, 24 different reactions (Part 3)
Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg and Barichello along with Renault’s Kubica, all scored points for their teams in the race at Monza.
Williams: Nico Hulkenberg had a tough day at work and had to toil extremely hard to justify and secure his winnings. The Williams’ driver lost his position off the start line but managed to come out better off in the first chicane – gaining
2 spots effectively.
However, the points were far from in the bag, as the driver had to race either Red Bulls at different stages of the race with little time to relax, as both drivers were relentless in their pursuit. Hulkenberg revealed that holding the defensive line was
a lot more challenging than it should have been after encountering some problems with his braking – a faulty brake pedal. Overall it was an action packed afternoon with the demanding blend of attacking and defending, complimented with great work by the pit
crew when the car headed for a tyre replacement. Hulkenberg was pleased with the outcome.
Rubens Barrichello after promising a better 301st grand prix after his disastrous 300th outing at Spa was able to secure the final point scoring position at the Italian Grand Prix. The Brazilian reflected on having a good start off
the line that saw him nose to nose with Nico. Coming into turn one, he had to take the outside line in hopes to avoid an encore of the Belgian GP accident – Did he make a clean run out of the first chicane? Barely, losing a part of his nose in the process
– Barrichello commented on how it became increasingly tight on an already narrow turn as Vettel’s bad start had all the cars bunched up behind.
However, more importantly, the cautious approach also meant dropping behind Buemi who was running long and that more or less dictated his race from then onwards. Overall, the former Ferrari and Brawn GP driver was pleased adding a precious point in the team’s
account in his name.
Renault: Robert Kubica’s Renault lived up to expectations with yet another good start, as his car sling shot past Hulkenberg off the line and then the two Red Bulls in the first chicane. After championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired,
the Polish driver had things under control in terms of his position on track. Rosberg ahead was in sight while Hulkenberg behind was kept in check. The Renault driver knew that pit stops would be vital which was why they decided to pit earlier than the cars
around them.
The decision proved to be the right call as the car ran a lap quicker in its out lap. The dampening factor was the execution of the pit stop itself. The slow stop and go lost Kubica a couple of precious seconds. The little twitch meant Nico Hulkenberg came
out of the pits level with the Renault. Both cars were matching each other at braking in the corners, making life extremely hard for the Polish driver.
As the Williams took a defensive line heading into the chicane, Mark Webber cashed in with the space available and pounced in at turn three. This meant losing two spots which was rather disappointing but bearing in mind Renault’s race pace this weekend,
Kubica was relevantly content with the finish. He concluded that he was looking ahead and rearing to get a taste of the track at Singapore in two weeks time.
Vitaly Petrov knew it was going to be a hard race and didn’t have his hopes up on Race day. The Renault driver qualified in 15th but was penalized for impeding Timo Glock during qualifying for which the Russian apologized.
“I didn't see him coming up behind me and didn't see any blue flags as I came out of the pits. My grid penalty will make things even harder in the race…” commented a rather dejected Petrov before the race.
Despite starting virtually at the back, the Renault driver made up 5 spots but was still too far down to challenge for the points on a circuit. He believed it was difficult to overtake because of the low down force setup that makes it tricky to get in the
slipstream of another car. Petrov did admit that he learnt a lot on his first visit to Mona in a F1 car and claimed to do better next year.
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