Sunday: Vergne and Toro Rosso denied points due to lack of rain
While he was in 7th place a few laps before the finish, Jean-Eric Vergne's tires did not provide enough grip, prompting the gamble with Intermediate tires. A gamble that turned out to be a bad one since the rain intensified only after the race. Ricciardo, on the other hand, was forced to retire after damaging his steering by going over a curb.
Jean-Eric Vergne – 12th:
« After the start, many cars in front of me cut the first corner, and I found myself behind the Marussia and lost a lot of time. I was on a one-stop strategy, and to get me out of the traffic, we anticipated the stop. From there, I had a good race pace, so I was happy, and I managed to climb up to seventh place. I was putting in consistently fast laps. But with 14 laps remaining, my tires were completely done, and I had to pit for intermediates, but the rain was not strong enough. It’s really a shame to have lost time in the traffic at the start because without that, I could have comfortably been in the points today.
I can’t wait to be in Canada because it’s a track I particularly enjoy even though I’ve never raced there. I am determined to get a good result there.
Daniel Ricciardo – Retirement:
« I got off to a good start then had to avoid an accident in front of me, but I was able to gain a few positions afterwards. I was behind Di Resta who was on Soft tires, on a different strategy as I was on Super Softs. We had a good pace and I tried to attack, but I couldn’t manage it. I tried to stay on track as long as possible with the Super Soft tires but then I started to slow down, so I came in to switch to the Softs, hoping to finish the race with them.
I came back on the track with a clear field and found my rhythm before ending up behind the Kovalainen and Button group. I tried to overtake the McLaren, but it wasn’t easy. Then, I hit the curb at turn 15. At the time, I didn’t feel anything, but a lap later, the steering had some play, so I returned to the pits: the car was no longer safe to drive. Despite all that, from a driving perspective, I really had a lot of fun until my retirement.
