2007 Monaco Grand Prix Race Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, F8-VII/03):
RET: 53 laps Accident
Fastest lap: 1:17.678
Christijan Albers (car 21, F8-VII/02):
RET: 70 laps Mechanical
Fastest lap: 1:17.689
Weather: Average 27 C ambient / 34 C track. Cloudy at the
start, but no rain. Hot and sunny throughout
27 May 2007 - At the end of what had been hitherto been a
positive Monaco Grand Prix weekend, there was ultimately disappointment
for the Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team as neither cars
made it to the end of the race.
Adrian Sutil had a good start and stayed with the group in
front, also keeping the Aguri of Anthony Davidson and Toyota
of Ralf Schumacher behind him. After his first pit stop on
lap 45, Adrian dropped back behind Schumacher, however was
unable to get back into contention when on lap 55 he ran wide
on the entrance to Casino Square and nudged the barrier. As
the right rear tyre came off the rim the German was unable
to continue and retired.
Christijan Albers started the race on an aggressive two-stop
strategy on supersoft Bridgestone tyres, counting on unpredictable
weather or a safety car period that so often characterise
the Monaco Grand Prix would materialise. Unfortunately neither
situation did and the Dutchman was unable to make the most
of his strategy. Christijan put in some quick laps towards
the end of the race, lapping at the same pace as the group
in front, but unfortunately his race came to a premature end
on lap 70 when he retired in the pits with a driveshaft failure.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'In general it was a good race until I crashed in Casino corner.
The start was the normal Monaco crowded style but I managed
to do the first corner quite well. Over the first 44 laps
we had a very good performance, the tyres were consistent
and I just went quicker and quicker as the track improved.
My lap times were pretty fast as well and we were racing some
cars. It wasn't a lonely race as I always had somebody behind
me and had to push so I enjoyed the race. I'm disappointed
I made a mistake - the brakes had became worse and worse and
it was hard to find the find the right braking performance
as they were unpredictable. I went a little bit to the outside
of the corner and there was so much rubber and dirt that I
hit the barrier and the tyre came off the rim. There wasn't
a lot of damage, it was just the tyres but I couldn't continue,
which is sad for everyone.'
Christijan Albers (car 21)
'It was a difficult weekend. First of all we had really bad
luck with Qualifying with the hydraulics and then we retired
from the race. As we were at the back we had to take a risk
and went for a really aggressive strategy, started on soft
tyres and went for two stops. At first I was struggling with
the rear but when I came in and changed to the normal soft
tyres, it started to go really well and we went a lot faster,
but then you are just lost in the traffic and have to let
the leaders through. It's just a shame, but on the other hand
if we had had some luck the strategy it could have worked
out. Now we should leave this behind and go to Canada - I
have some ideas about what we will change and make the car
more driveable over there.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'A disappointing end to quite a good weekend. Christijan started
from the back after the problem in Qualifying and we went
for two stops, relying on a safety car period as we had to
do something with the strategy, but that didn't happen so
we knew his race was compromised. Adrian had a good race on
a one stop strategy and was very competitive in the group
around him and was able to race other cars, but he made a
mistake, touched a barrier and his race was over. It had been
a good weekend until this point, so ultimately very disappointing.'
Colin Kolles, team principal and managing director
'Although the result was a real disappointment, there are
some positives we can take away from the weekend. Adrian's
superb fastest time in practice and our race pace were both
exceptional given our form until now, so we have to focus
on these rather than the fact neither cars made it to the
end. It's a strong basis for Canada and the US GPs.'
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