Sunday: An engine failure deprives Petrov of the race at Caterham

Heikki Kovalainen – 17th:

« It was a rather calm race for me. I drove as hard as I could with the car we had today and was relatively alone throughout the race. I had a minor incident on the first lap but quickly recovered, and from there, it was just about not making mistakes so we could take advantage of whatever might have happened ahead.

It’s a shame for Vitaly that his race ended so early, but I think we will be stronger at the next race. We will have more time to work on the developments we brought here and hopefully we will be able to close the gap with the cars ahead of us.

Vitaly Petrov – Non-starter:

« I am obviously disappointed that my race ended before I even reached the grid. The car suffered an engine failure during my first lap out of the pits, and I had to pull over just before the entrance to the pit lane. The team brought the car back to the garage, but it was immediately clear that the problem was irreparable, and that was the end of the race. These things happen in racing, so there’s no point in looking back: Renault Sport will investigate the issue, and we know they will work hard to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Despite today’s problem, it was a positive weekend. The car performed well in each session and I was really pleased with how the engineers and mechanics helped us make a step forward in setup. Even though we ran very little with the new features, it quickly became evident that we had more downforce on the car. With a little more track time, we will be able to fine-tune the settings that will allow us to get the best out of the car for the next race.