Sunday: Orphaned by Hülkenberg, Sauber leaves India empty-handed
As Nico Hülkenberg seemed well on his way to finishing in the points once again and allowing Sauber to continue closing in on Force India, the German driver had to retire. The disappointment of the retirement is not eased by the performance of his teammate, Esteban Gutiérrez, who finished 15th after being penalized for jumping the start.
Nico Hülkenberg – 19th (Retirement):
Today, I could have crossed the finish line in 8th position. We still don’t know what happened. When I braked at the last corner, something happened and I lost the brakes. Something must have broken on the car. Then, I went to the pits and came out again, but something was not right. It’s very disappointing.
Esteban Gutiérrez – 15th:
« It was not a very good weekend, even though I gained experience today during the race. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the start and paid for it with a drive-through penalty. We had a good pace today and I had some great battles with Fernando [Alonso] and Romain [Grosjean]. I enjoyed it. The car had very good balance. At the end, I struggled with the soft tires, but I think if I avoid mistakes and we can qualify better, then we can finish in the top 10 again. »
