“Nick gained two positions at the start so was well on his way, but the safety car period destroyed our strategy. We literally missed getting Nick into the pit-lane before the safety car by a few seconds.
“As a result he had to re-fuel during the safety-car period, and we got a ten-second penalty because of that. For our team it was the least points we have scored so far this season, but we had a good performance throughout the weekend without any technical problems.”
Willy Rampf [BMW-Sauber – technical director]:
“Overall we expected more from this race. Robert lost a position to Hamilton right after the start and, because they both had similar speed and were on the same pit-stop strategy, he couldn’t get third place back.
“Nick purely had bad luck. Just before he was supposed to come in, the safety car went out. His tank was empty and he was forced to enter the pit-lane under the red light. The ten-second penalty ruined his race.”
Christian Horner [Red Bull – team principal]:
“It was an excellent race for Mark, well-executed by both driver and team. His pace was strong all weekend and we’re very pleased with fifth place.
“For David, the nightmare of yesterday’s qualifying session continued. It looked as though he might be able to pick up a couple of points at one stage in the race, but unfortunately things just didn’t go his way today. I’m sure his luck will change soon.”
Fabrice Lom [Renault – principal engineer, track support]:
“It’s a very good result for us – fifth place is a strong place to finish. We’ve taken a step forwards in performance and we were quicker than
Williams and
Toyota today. For David, it was
difficult starting so far back; it was always going to be hard to recover from there.”
Ross Brawn [Honda – team principal]:
“The whole team is delighted to score some points as we embark on the European season, and it is just reward after the tremendous efforts made by everyone. We have made a good step forward with the new upgrade package, and today’s result reflects all the hard work that the team have put into developing the car since the start of the season.
