Sunday: Caterham came very close

Charles Pic – 14th

It was a good race for me. I had a clean start, but in the third corner, I had to go off track to avoid Massa, who had spun. So I lost a few places. I regained them, and during my first two stints, the balance of the car was good. We started on super softs, and they held up well for the first stint. We stopped as planned and went back out on a set of new mediums.

As I was able to say, the car’s balance was good and I was following our plan when the first safety car came on track. So we made our pit stop immediately. At that moment, we were expecting to do a long stint until the finish. However, the second safety car came out almost immediately, which helped us in managing the tires. I had some issues with the front right in the last laps but nothing serious. So, I was able to bring the car to the checkered flag in 14th place, which is a decent result for us. Not quite where we want to be but almost!

Giedo van der Garde – 15th

« My start was really good and when everyone turned away to avoid Massa in turn 3, I had to widen my trajectory to avoid contact with some cars around me. I don’t think I intentionally pushed a car off the track on the first lap but we were ordered to go through the pits for a penalty because of what the stewards saw. From that moment on, my race was almost over. I served my penalty and had to stop right after because the super softs were starting to wear out. So even though I was 12th at the end of the first stint, I dropped back to 22nd and started chasing Chilton and Bianchi.

I was close to Chilton when the safety car came in. The team did a great job helping me pass him by making a really quick stop on the first lap of the safety car. This kind of teamwork should be noted because it plays a crucial role in the outcome of the race. So the guys deserve a thank you for that.

The second safety car came in almost immediately when Mark’s car caught fire. When we restarted, I locked my tires a bit at the end of the main straight, and Bianchi overtook me. But a few laps later, I regained my position and was behind Charles in 17th place. I had a flat on one of my tires from that moment on, but I kept pushing to finish 15th, just behind Charles. Without the penalty, I’m sure I could have finished higher. Maybe not 13th, but not far off. So it’s obviously frustrating. It shows how close it is. It’s good for my motivation and the whole team.