Monaco: the race seen from the pits

Red Bull

Mark Webber – Winner

Sebastian Vettel – 4th

Christian Horner, Team Principal: It’s a fantastic result for the team to achieve a third consecutive victory in Monaco. Mark had a flawless race after a very good start, he controlled the race right from the start. We weren’t sure whether to make one or two stops before the race, but Mark did such a good job on the super-softs that he made the one-stop option possible and he found the necessary pace. Despite a few tense moments at the end of the race, he managed his pace in an incredible way and never seemed to be threatened.

With Sebastian, after a good start, he quickly found himself in 6th place before the drivers on super-softs went through the pits, and then he had his chance to do really fast laps on softs, which, combined with a very good pit stop, allowed him to pass Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

So finishing 1st and 4th is a very good team result, it’s nice to achieve such a result, even more so with all our partners present here in the Principality. All races offer the same number of points, but some are a bit more special to win than others.

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Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – 2nd

Michael Schumacher – Retirement

Ross Brawn, Team Principal

« Nico had a very good race today and did what he needed to do. I think we made the right decisions but nothing came our way. It was a race mostly about managing gaps and finding the right windows with traffic; the team did a very good job in this regard.

Nico was the first of the front runners to stop, but the hard tire took a lap or two before it was performing well, and it wasn’t enough to pass Mark [Webber]. As for Michael, he was hit in the first corner which cost him a few places, but he was very fast until a fuel pressure problem slowed him down. We tried to continue but it cost him too much time, placing him out of the points and forcing us to retire him. It’s very disappointing because he had a great performance this weekend and was still in the race to score good points. We need to make sure to eliminate these issues for him, starting with Canada.

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Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 3rd

Felipe Massa – 6th

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: First of all, I would like to say that all our thoughts are with those who have suffered following the earthquake that affected the Emilia region (in Italy) last week; we hope that this good result from Ferrari will allow them, for a few hours, to forget their problems in these difficult times. We are with you, in thought and in actions, because our roots are there, in this ground that has continued to tremble over the past eight days.

Regarding the race, we leave the Principality with a very positive result and, above all, with Fernando Alonso leading the drivers’ championship and Felipe Massa delivering a brilliant performance throughout the weekend. Both our drivers did a great job from the first to the last lap, and the team behind them did the same in this situation. I am particularly happy for Felipe, who needed a positive result: I am sure this weekend truly represents a fresh start for his season. We must be satisfied, but we must not relax, especially because we are not the best in terms of performance, particularly in qualifying. As I always say after a good weekend, let’s stay calm and keep it up!

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McLaren

Lewis Hamilton – 5th

Jenson Button – Retirement

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: «We will not remember this year’s Monaco Grand Prix as one of the most triumphant in McLaren’s glorious history at Monte Carlo – even though Lewis finished only 4 seconds behind Mark (Webber) today, the small deficit is partly due to the unique combination of drivers having to think about saving their tires and the circuit where overtaking is virtually impossible.

As a result, Mark was able to hold off his rivals at the end of the race without taking any risks for his leading position. Lewis still scored 10 useful points and is only 13 points away from the top of the drivers’ championship. Jenson had a frustrating afternoon, trying to climb back up starting 12th on the grid, but in the end, he had to retire after 71 laps.

Our next stop will be Montreal, another circuit that isn’t used all year round for races, but where overtaking is at least possible. Jenson brilliantly won there last year, and Lewis superbly won the year before – so, even though we couldn’t add a win to our record of 15 successes in Monaco this afternoon, I can assure you that in two weeks, we will be aiming for a third consecutive victory for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team at the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Force India

Paul di Resta – 7th

Nico Hülkenberg – 8th

Dr Vijay Mallya, Director: « It was a very enjoyable Monaco Grand Prix and I am delighted to see our two Sahara Force Indias finish in the points. Paul was very strong in the race, gaining seven places from his grid position and managing his tires brilliantly. Nico had a strategy opposite to Paul’s, and it worked well too, allowing us to leave here with 10 important points. Now, we are looking forward to the next race in Canada where we hope to continue finishing in the points.»

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Lotus

Kimi Räikkönen – 9th

Romain Grosjean – Retirement

Eric Boullier, Team Director: We arrived in Monaco after two consecutive podiums and we weren’t quite sure what to expect on such an unusual circuit. Before qualifying, it was clear that the E20 was going to be competitive, but things did not go as planned. Our grid positions did not reflect our true pace and that put us on the back foot for the rest of the weekend.

Unfortunately, Romain’s race ended prematurely after contact with Michael Schumacher, and like the stewards, I think it was a racing incident. With Kimi, we knew that the fight for the podium was going to be even more difficult. Then, it became obviously clear that we were struggling with the tires as the temperatures dropped. The grip was no longer there, and we could only defend our position.

In the end, the two points scored today are disappointing but given the narrow margins, we haven’t lost too much ground on our rivals. We have the same number of points as Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, while Kimi is 25 points behind Fernando Alonso, who is leading the drivers’ standings. Anything can still happen, and the championship remains open.

We look forward to being in Montreal, the first low-downforce track of the season, where the E20 should be strong. I would finally like to congratulate the entire team for their hard work throughout the weekend. Our 500th (Grand Prix) was not the best, but let’s hope the 501st will be!

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Williams

Bruno Senna – 10th

Pastor Maldonado – Retirement

Mark Gillan, Chief Engineer in charge of operations: « While we are thrilled to score a point with Bruno, we are frustrated because the car and the drivers could do better than those who finished ahead of them. Unfortunately, Pastor’s race ended in the first lap as he hit Pedro de la Rosa, who was braking to avoid Grosjean in front of him. Bruno had a very good race, putting pressure on Räikkönen until the end, but he just couldn’t pass. We will regroup for Canada and hope to do a better job in Montreal. »

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Sauber

Sergio Pérez – 11th

Kamui Kobayashi – Retirement

Peter Sauber, Director: « Sergio not only did the fastest lap, but for long parts of the race he was the fastest driver on track. This shows us what we can do when everything goes well. Now, it’s up to the entire team to turn these opportunities into success. »

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Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – 12th

Daniel Ricciardo – Abandon

Franz Tost – Team Principal: « The rain, which fell when Mark Webber was on the podium celebrating a great victory, came too late to keep Jean-Eric in the points. Since he found himself relegated to the back of the pack when several cars overtook him by cutting the first corner chicane, we anticipated his stop to fit the Soft tires. He could have gone to the end of the race on a one-stop strategy. Unfortunately, the tires we fitted on lap 17 were no longer in the best condition when light rain began to fall. As he had little grip with his tires, we brought him in to fit the Intermediates on lap 71, but the rain that would have helped him fight for tenth place did not arrive quickly enough.

The rain, or lack of rain, also affected Daniel’s strategy. We kept him on the Super Soft tires as long as possible in the hope of calling him in to switch to rain tires, but that did not happen and, while those around him were gaining positions, when he came out of the pits, he found himself behind the same group. In the end, we decided to retire his car from the race after an impact on a curb visibly damaged his steering.

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Caterham

Heïkki Kovalainen – 13th

Vitaly Petrov – Retirement

Mark Smith, Technical Director: « It was a really exciting race where we showed how much we are progressing. It was really unfortunate to see Vitaly have to retire early; if he hadn’t been hit by the Sauber, he probably could have been much higher alongside his teammate, and we had decided to start our two cars with two different tires, so we could have had more strategic options if we hadn’t had this electrical problem that ended his race.

With Heikki, we started on the super-softs and kept him on track for a long time during the first stint because he managed his tires well. He had a fantastic battle with Jenson, keeping him at bay, and the mechanics did a great job to keep him ahead after their stops. When the rain started to fall, we saw Heikki’s brake temperatures drop, and he told us that the car was becoming harder to control, but if Pérez hadn’t hit him and damaged his front wing as a result, I’m sure he could have maintained that position. He was really determined and drove at his best. I’m thrilled for him and for the team – it was a good weekend for us, a weekend that gives us a nice momentum to continue like this in Canada and for the rest of the season.

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Marussia

**Timo Glock** – 14th

Charles Pic – Abandon

John Booth, Team Director: It was a disappointing race for us considering its conclusion. Unfortunately, given the course of the end of the race, despite Kovalainen’s front wing issues, the problems encountered on our two cars meant he was able to retain his 13th place, which means we lose the 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, on the positive side, the race pace of our two cars was good and Timo could have finished on the same lap as the leader. It was therefore very disappointing to see him lose a piece of his front wing at the Swimming Pool. We still need to understand what happened, although the likely scenario seems to be damage caused by an incident earlier in the race. For Charles, unfortunately, he retired on the 65th lap due to an electrical issue that stopped his engine. We will remember the lessons learned this weekend and apply them positively to prepare for the next race and those that follow.

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HRT

Narain Karthikeyan – 15th

Pedro de la Rosa – Abandon

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Director: We have mixed feelings today. Pedro was hit very early, which was unfortunate, but on the other hand, Narain had a very good race and finished 15th, our best result of the season. This race [editor’s note: Monaco] is always complicated and, given the weather forecasts, we went with a strategy for a wet race. In the end, it didn’t rain and that cost us a few positions. But we are satisfied because we finished the race with at least one car and only two laps down from the leader, which here in Monaco is very positive for us.

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