Sunday: Encouraging Debuts for Pic and Marussia
The Marussia team almost succeeded in having both of its drivers finish the Australian Grand Prix. Timo Glock took the checkered flag in 14th position, while Charles Pic did not have that honor. The French driver had to stop in the pits a few laps from the end but was still classified. The Russian team is pleased with the debut of the MR01 in competition but is also aware that there is still a lot of work to be done to improve.
Timo Glock – 14th
A superb race from the team and a great reward for all the work and pressure of the past few months. It is important to remember that we arrived here without proper running with the new car. Add to that potential reliability issues—because they always happen to every team during pre-season testing—it was a special weekend with bringing the car to the finish without any problems.
I chose a good trajectory on the first corner and was able to avoid problems, finding myself in 13th place. I had a little battle with Caterham for a while, but I knew I had to focus on my own race. The car was consistent and in the end, I have to be happy with finishing 14th, as should the team because it’s a good start in the fight for the constructors’ championship.
The single-seater gave me a birthday gift for sure and I will appreciate it now, but tomorrow the work starts again because we have a lot to do to improve the car. I’ve said it before, but a big thank you to the team.
Charles Pic – 15th
«I am rather satisfied with my first race and really delighted for the team, which had a very good start to the season. Everything was positive during the race, I had some issues at the beginning and then I had to come in a few laps before the end due to an oil pressure problem, and the team wanted to be cautious with the car.»
It’s a shame that I couldn’t take the checkered flag, but I’m happy to finish the race in 15th position after the difficulties encountered before the start of the season. There’s still a lot of work to be done and much more to come from myself and the car, but we have gathered a lot of information, and that will help us prepare for Malaysia next weekend.
John Booth – Team Director
I know I speak for the whole team when I say that I am absolutely delighted with the debut of the new car in competition this weekend in Melbourne. I said on Friday that, despite Timo’s 12th place in free practice 2, I didn’t want us to get carried away because qualifying could have been different and the race was very likely to expose us to reliability issues with the car, given that we haven’t had the opportunity to do so due to lack of testing.
It’s truly something to have succeeded in such a short time and under such delicate circumstances. Upon arriving this weekend, the car had only covered 200 km during a promotional shoot with special tires, and since we began testing, we have completed 215 laps without fault – that’s 1120 km. All credit goes to the drivers, who have been fantastic. Timo talked throughout the race, providing us with vital feedback to add to the wealth of data collected from our runs. Charles’ debut was also impressive, and he clearly showed that he is ready for his debut.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners – those who have been with us from the beginning and all those who joined us in the weeks leading up to the race – for their confidence in Marussia F1, which I am delighted to have seen rewarded this weekend at Albert Park. We must not be under any illusion that there is still much work to be done, but 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship is not such a bad place to start.
