Sunday: Satisfaction at Marussia after the successful debut of both rookies

Jules Bianchi – 15th:

« I am very happy with my race today and I really couldn’t imagine a better start to my first F1 season. Yesterday’s qualifying was tough but today I was very calm as I was waiting for this moment. Overall, everything went smoothly during the race and we managed our tire management issues as best as we could to maximize our opportunities. We didn’t have the luxury of a lot of preparation time, so I would like to thank my engineers, my mechanics, and the entire team for helping me be as well-prepared as possible and for their great work today. It seems that the team made a big step forward over the winter, and it is very nice to see them respond positively. »

Max Chilton – 17th:

I’m very happy with my start in Formula 1. Even though it hasn’t been without its challenges, it’s good to have done it and to know where we stand compared to the competition. The collision with Van der Garde at the beginning of the race damaged my front wing, which meant I had to make a pit stop to change the wing. This put me at the back, so I had to deal with the blue flag period. I had to fight to make up the lost ground. I had a very good battle with Van der Garde, and I got close enough to overtake him. After that, I was able to show my true pace and was nearly three seconds faster than him. Even though the race brought its share of frustrations, I feel like I’ve learned a lot of things that I might not have learned otherwise, and that it will be a useful experience for the upcoming races. I’m looking forward to going to Malaysia now so I can put all this into practice and be able to fight with the midfield pack.