Petrov: I just did my job.
Vitaly Petrov delivered, and what better place to do it then in the grand finale at the Yas-Marina circuit in Abu-Dhabi. Petrov’s race at Abu-Dhabi qualifies as his season's best and this effort might have convinced Renault to retain the Russian for the
coming seasons. This quite clearly was a modest ending to Petrov’s season.
The Russian kept desperate Alonso behind his rear for the final 40 laps of the race. Alonso kept attacking but determined was Petrov and due to his tenacity Alonso finished at an in-effective 7thposition when all he required was 4th position
or above. Petrov suggested that he shouldn’t be targeted and that Alonso should scrutinize Ferrari’s pit stop strategy for his demise.
Perhaps Ferrari did make a blunder of their pit-stop strategy and Alonso had to pay for it by missing out on the championship, a triumph he could almost taste going into the final race.
Ferrari’s pit stop strategy revolved around Mark Webber which, they later felt was a ‘mistake’. The Ferrari team Principal Stefano Domenicali admitted to have been devastated seeing his team getting so close to Driver’s Championship only to lose out in the
end. His words really complimented his thoughts.
"What I feel inside is a lot of pain" he said.
"When you arrive at our situation and see you can do it, only to miss out, then you feel very painful.
"For sure it was the worst race of the year for us, so that is why it hits you very strong in your head.”
But the person he felt most sorry for was clearly Fernando Alonso, someone who had given the whole Ferrari team hope to win the Championship.
"I have to say I feel sorry for Fernando. He did a fantastic year, always pushed the people to work and never gave up,"
admitted Dominecali.
On the other hand Petrov defended his position by saying that he was just doing his job.
Things did heat up in the slow down lap where a little drama unfolded as Alonso caught up with Petrov and the Spaniard made some not-so-friendly hand movements as if he was questioning Petrov on what he did. Petrov remained composed.
Alonso also blamed Petrov for being aggressive. Petrov quickly denied the authenticity of the statement. Petrov later came out with these statements.
"I had a long battle with Fernando, but the car had good top speed today so I was able to control the situation: I just did my job."
"I did my race, the maximum that I could," he said. "I cannot let one car pass me because it is racing”
"Look at Sebastian in 2008. He was behind (Lewis) Hamilton, who was going for the title, in the final race in Brazil.
"But he passed Lewis, who almost lost the Championship. He was also not thinking about who he was battling with.
"So I didn't do anything other than I kept pushing. I like battles and things like this, but I wasn't aggressive.
"That was a normal race. I won't let anybody pass easily. I want to show I am not here to just drive around for fun."
Let’s not forget that the Yas-Marina is not a lap which enables overtaking. It is not in the circuit’s nature to give away overtaking opportunities and all the factors led to what turned out to be inevitable.
Petrov impressed several at Yas Marina Abu-Dhabi. The ending note is that Petrov tamed Alonso on an inferior car for a whopping 40 laps, an effort which should be applauded.
Petrov would continue to anticipate better performances in the coming season, with competitive Robert Kubica by his side. They landed Renault in the 5th spot in constructors’ championship with 163 points, hoping to build on it the next season.
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