Sunday: Marussia Between Confidence and Bad Luck
After a complicated start to the weekend, the Suzuka race did not go well for Jules Bianchi either: the Frenchman didn't make it past the first corner after a collision with Giedo van der Garde. Max Chilton couldn't hold off Charles Pic despite a two-stop strategy.
Max Chilton – 19th: Overall it was quite a positive weekend for me and we did everything right. It was nice to qualify ahead of my three closest rivals for the first time yesterday and today I held my position for the majority of the race. So it was quite disappointing to lose out just a few laps from the end. I was pleased with how the race was going for us but with the prime tires during the last stint, I struggled a bit more and made a small error by going over the curbs, which caused me to go off. As a result, with those tires, there wasn’t much to do to recover. Even though we lost out at the end, I think we need to focus on the positives. The car is better, and we are well placed to fight with the Caterhams.
Jules Bianchi – Retirement: Overall, I think it wasn’t my weekend, which is a shame because I love the Suzuka circuit. We did our best to fight, and I was quite confident in our approach to the race. Unfortunately, when I turned into the first corner on the opening lap, van der Garde hit my rear wing, which sent me off the track and into the gravel. There’s nothing more to say, except my thanks to the team for all the hard work done this weekend. I hope we can come back and do better in India as there are good signs regarding the car’s performance.
