Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team – Austrian Grand Prix Reaction
It was a thrilling race for the fans today however the Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team missed out on points today with Sergio Perez suffering with a brake failure in the final lap of the race whilst his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg retired from the race with brake concerns.
See all the reaction from both drivers and the deputy team principal below…
Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team – Austrian Grand Prix Reaction – Nico Hulkenberg
DNF – Nico Hülkenberg
Strategy: Used UltraSoft – 8 laps
New SuperSoft – 16 laps
New Soft – 27 laps
Used UltraSoft – 14 laps – retired
Nico: “I’m pretty disappointed and gutted to be honest as it was a really tough race and nothing really worked out for us.“
“The start wasn’t great and I dropped a couple of positions in lap one but the opening stint was very difficult because the car was sliding around and the tyres were graining.”
“That became the story of my race because the balance wasn’t there either and I couldn’t manage the tyres. With a new set I could manage three or four laps before they fell away.“
“Towards the end of the race, I had some vibrations with the car and the team saw that I was critical on brake wear which is why we retired the car in the end.“
“We have to digest and understand what happened today and then look forward to Silverstone.“
Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team – Austrian Grand Prix Reaction – Sergio Perez
Position – 17 – Sergio Perez
Strategy: New UltraSoft – 9 laps
New SuperSoft – 17 laps
New Soft – 44 laps – DNF
Sergio: “It’s a big shame that we retired on the last lap of the race. I’m feeling sad for the team because we really deserved some points.“
“Yesterday and today we have been really unlucky, and it’s frustrating because we’ve been competitive here with our pace. The race was going really well and I thought we had the points in our pocket.“
“I was pushing hard to stay close to Grosjean because I knew he had a five seconds time penalty. Then, on the final lap, going into turn three, I had no brakes and went straight on. I touched the barrier and damaged the front of the car, but I’m perfectly okay.”
“It’s annoying because the team did everything right today and it’s just bad luck which stopped our great recovery.“
Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team – Austrian Grand Prix Reaction- Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
Robert Fernley – “Not the way we wanted to end our weekend after all of the promise we showed yesterday, but that is the harsh deal racing sometimes hands you.“
“We looked on course to score some good points with Sergio, who had completed a great comeback to P8 from a low grid position, but unfortunately he suffered a brake problem on the last lap and ended up in the gravel.“
“It’s a shame as he would have richly deserved this result after a determined performance. Nico lost a few places at the start and then all his tyres suffered from graining. The timing of the safety car also didn’t play into his hands.“
“In the end, his race was brought to an end early as we saw some brake issues arising on his car and we called him in to retire as a precautionary measure.“
“It’s disappointing not to score, but we will regroup and try to bounce back for our home Grand Prix in Silverstone.“
There we have the reaction from the team and both drivers – we have lots more coming soon!
The Formula 1 Girl 🙂
xxx
Thank you to the Sahara Force India Formula One Team for the interviews & images.