12/06/2011
NEWS STORY
A dramatic Canadian Grand Prix which ran to just over four hours today saw Michael Schumacher finish in fourth place after a strong drive; he finished less than half a second from a podium place. Nico Rosberg finished just outside of the points in 11th position.
The race featured a total of seven Safety Car periods, including the race start and restart. Both drivers made a total of four stops during the race: two before the red flag stoppage, and two after the restart. The team pitted both drivers for intermediates during the first part of the race, just before heavy rain hit the circuit. This forced them to pit again for wet tyres, leaving Nico in P11 and Michael in P12 when the race was red flagged. Michael climbed from P12 at the restart to finish P4 and ran second for 11 laps before being passed by Button & Webber. Nico was in a points-scoring position but damaged his front wing after contact with Kobayashi on lap 66, and lost the wing on lap 70.
Michael Schumacher: "I am leaving this race with one eye laughing and one eye crying, as I am not sure if I should be excited or sad about it. Having been in second place towards the end, I would obviously have loved to finish there and be on the podium again. But even if it did not work out in the very end, we can be happy about the result and the big fight we put in. A good strategy after the red flag made it possible, and I am very happy for our team. I would also like to send a big compliment out to the spectators who stayed with us in those difficult circumstances for so long and even cheered us up. That was impressive, and I am glad that I could play my part in entertaining them."
Nico Rosberg: "It was a very demanding race this afternoon. In general, everything was okay with my car and, at the end, I was up there in the points but I made a mistake at the hairpin on lap 66. I was trying to overtake Kobayashi and was very close behind him in turn 10; he slowed when I didn't expect it, I hit the back of him and damaged my front wing, which then came off on the last lap. The same thing had happened to me, but in reverse, when Sutil hit me. I could perhaps have been a little more aggressive with some of my stops today, pitting a little earlier, but it's always difficult to judge the risk. Although my result was not so good, I'm sure it was an exciting race for the fans in front of the TV. We have some positives to take from this weekend, and we will look to give a strong performance next time in Valencia."
Ross Brawn: "After our intermediate tyre strategy during the first part of the race didn't work out, we were looking a little stranded in 11th and 12th positions when the race was red flagged, but we recovered the situation well. Michael stopped for intermediate tyres on lap 34 when the Safety Car came in, which enabled him to gain a number of positions, and Nico did the same two laps later. It was a thrilling race and Michael drove beautifully in the second part; he did a strong job on the intermediates and the option tyres, but was unable to hold off Jenson and Mark's faster cars, particularly when they had the use of DRS. Even so, it was a fantastic drive to climb eight places and finish fourth. Nico had a more difficult time: he got hit by Sutil, but climbed back from that and looked set for a solid points finish until he lost his damaged front wing on the final lap which left him in 11th place. Overall, it was an exciting and extremely challenging but ultimately positive race for our team."
Norbert Haug: "This wasn't just a Grand Prix - it was like an action movie. First of all, congratulations to Jenson and McLaren Mercedes for coming from last to first position and posting the 75th win with a Mercedes engine since our first victory in the modern era at Melbourne in 1997. Michael drove at his best today; he ran second for a long time and he was the fastest man in the field on intermediates. He ultimately finished fourth, just 0.3s from the podium, which is a very respectable result. The team worked very hard over the weekend and Michael extracted everything possible from the car; our sincere compliments to him for this drive. Nico was hit from behind on the restart after the red flag, and would have brought his slightly damaged car home in the points until, after contact, he lost his front wing on the last lap. Michael's result is a good reward for our team's hard work in the past weeks and we will build on it. His drive contributed a lot to a remarkable race, which gave fantastic entertainment to the spectators here in Montreal who waited so long for the restart, as much as for the television viewers worldwide. This was motor racing at its best."
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