2008 British Grand Prix Race Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02):
DNF 16:59.400 (10 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05):
DNF 43:12.620 (26 laps)
Heavy rain showers, wet track conditions and standing water
all contributed to an extraordinary British Grand Prix today
at Silverstone, with just 13 finishers and only three cars
finishing on the lead lap. Unfortunately, however, the very
same conditions also conspired to bring the Force India Formula
One Team's race to a disappointing double retirement.
Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella both raced competitively
in the first half of the race, but spins into the gravel trap
on laps 11 and 27 respectively put an end to the duo's challenge.
Adrian, who started 19th, was up to 11th position in the
opening stages and racing with Bourdais and Button until he
aquaplaned on a puddle of standing water coming down the Club
straight and went off into the gravel.
Giancarlo climbed into the top 15 from his 20th slot on the
grid, however moving off line through the Becketts complex
to let a lapping car through caused a lack of traction and
grip on the ice-like surface and he too went into the gravel.
The team will now regroup with a further three-day test next
week at Hockenheim in advance of the German Grand Prix in
two weeks time. Adrian will test the first two days, with
Giancarlo finishing the test on Thursday.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'At the time of my spin, the track was starting to dry and
it was tricky to tell where the wet patches were. This is
what happened in my case - I just went on one of these puddles
and aquaplaned off completely. It was a shame as considering
how the race turned out, we could have had a chance of moving
up the order some more, but this is racing and you never know
how it will turn out. I'm now looking forward to the test
next week where we can try out some more new parts and then
we go onto my home race in Germany.'
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
'I just lost control going through the complex because there
was a lot of graining on the tyres as a result of the heavy
fuel load we were carrying to be as flexible as possible with
the weather. Even two laps earlier, the track was starting
to dry out and there was some more graining. The grip level
was absolutely zero and I spun.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'A very disappointing end to the weekend. It is important
in these sort of conditions to get cars to the end and pick
up whatever places are available but unfortunately both drivers
got caught out by the conditions. On a positive note though,
our pace certainly seems better with the modifications we
made and we have some further updates for Hockenheim, so we
need to move forward and have a better weekend there.'
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director
'What a race today. It is the first time in many years that
the winner - a very deserving Lewis Hamilton - lapped all
up to third position. It is also astonishing that a car that
qualified just two tenths away from us has finished on the
podium. If we had finished then who knows what would have
been possible? Of course we didn't, but the conditions were
extremely difficult and, as we saw, most drivers experienced
some sort of problem. We should not dwell on this too much
though, but rather move on to the next test in just two days'
time and then the German Grand Prix, where I am sure Adrian
will want to put on a good show in front of his home crowd.'
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