“Of course Timo was not helped by his mechanical problem in qualifying. Then today both cars lost ground at the start, so we will have to investigate that further when we get back to the factory. Those issues meant that the two cars were stuck in traffic for most of the race. Now we must improve our performance and aim for a better result next time.”
Ross Brawn [Honda – team principal]:
“After a surprisingly uncompetitive qualifying yesterday, we were hoping that it would be business as usual for the race today. A few laps in both drivers had poor balance, and it was clear that our pace was not enough to challenge for the points.
“We switched the strategy on both cars from two-stops to a one-stop mid-race. This was mainly to defend against the cars behind, and this approach proved successful. It also gave us the possibility that we would gain if there was a safety car in the middle part of the race, as this was our only realistic chance of points today.
“We have a track test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France to prepare for Monaco and Montreal, followed by an aero test at Barcelona to validate our next aerodynamic step. We should have some visually interesting new parts for Monaco, the highest downforce circuit so far.
“However we do not expect Monaco to be the highest downforce track of the year – our calculations show that Singapore will require even more. Montreal is at the opposite end of the spectrum, with the demand placed on very high straight-line speed.”
Dr Vijay Mallya [Force India F1 – chairman and managing director]:
“After the high of our first top ten finish in Spain, this weekend was always going to be difficult to measure up. Sure enough it was a challenge in many respects, but I still feel there are positives to take away.
