07/07/2013
NEWS STORY
The Marussia F1 Team's Jules Bianchi seemed to suffer all the bad luck in Germany this weekend - a stomach upset on Friday putting him off his stroke until Saturday, and then a race that ended abruptly today after an engine problem on lap 22. His team-mate Max Chilton consolidated his run of race finishes in this afternoon's Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2013 at the Nürburgring, taking the chequered flag on the ninth occasion in nine races to finish in 19th place.
Max Chilton: "Not an easy race today. We both struggled with our starts and the opening few laps and then I started to close the gap to Charles and Jules; I was happy with the car. Unfortunately for Jules he had an engine problem so I knew that I had to do my best to get some reward for the Team. In the middle stint there was nothing between us and Caterham and then the safety car came out and stirred up everyone's strategies. We made the right call, but just suffered with rear tyre wear with 10 laps to go. On the whole I was happy with my performance and speed today."
Jules Bianchi: "Obviously it is very disappointing to end my race so soon, due to an engine problem on lap 22. I got a very poor start and it was a real battle to recover from that and stay ahead of Pic. I had just completed my second pit stop and got ahead of Van Der Garde when the engine let go, but I think we had the pace to be able to fight to keep both Caterhams behind had I continued. The car felt well-balanced and we were showing the usual more positive race pace. It has been a less than straightforward weekend so perhaps this was just not destined to be our race and we just have to look ahead to the next one in Hungary."
John Booth, Team Principal: "An incredibly disappointing result for the Team today but perhaps one which, when digested on Monday morning, will be viewed more favourably. It is clear we had much more potential today and Jules' unfortunate engine problem meant that we were unable to beat our nearest competitors. We don't yet know the cause but I am sure working with Cosworth tonight we will be able to make an initial assessment of what went wrong. What was pleasing today was to see Max running very much at the same pace as Jules and the Caterhams throughout the race and he only lost out due to a more oversteered balance today, which meant that his rear tyres suffered later in the stint. We now move on to the Young Driver Test and thereafter the Hungarian Grand Prix in three weeks' time."
Check out our Race Day gallery, here.