HOME AND DRY
24 JULY 2011
Timo and Jérôme finish 17th and 18th in a thrilling German Grand Prix
Everybody's money was on a wet race today, but by lunchtime the skies had turned a paler shade of grey and rain was no longer falling.
A few drops were falling as the cars lined up on the grid, but nowhere near enough to warrant using intermediates. Free Practice had shown that Options were behaving very consistently here and the entire grid chose to start the race using them.
Both cars got away well, and at the end of the first lap Timo was running in 16th place, although once DRS was enabled he was unable to defend his position.
Stops by the leaders meant that it was worth staying out for as long as possible to minimise time lost under blue flags, so Timo stopped on lap 22 for the first time, followed by Jérôme two laps later. Both cars again used Options, with a late stop planned to fit Primes.
Both drivers set their fastest times of the race on the final lap - a strong showing and a fitting way to celebrate the announcement that Timo will be staying with the team for the foreseeable future.
Timo Glock, Race Driver #24
“After a positive start to the day with the announcement about my future with the team, it was quite a difficult race today. I struggled with the braking system from the middle of the race onwards and I wasn’t able to push late on in the race, so we have to look into the problem. Otherwise thanks to the team for a good weekend at my home Grand Prix. A shame it was so cold for everyone but we head to Hungary now for better weather and I hope we can have another good result there.”
Jérôme D’Ambrosio, Race Driver #25
“I'm happy about the weekend. I feel like I'm back on the right track and although there's definitely more improvements I can make, particularly in qualifying, I’m going in the right direction. The last few weekends have been a bit tough and this is the one I'll be focusing on. I'd like to keep this momentum in Hungary before the break and stay as close as possible to Timo.”
John Booth, Team Principal
“This is a great way to end Timo’s home race weekend. After announcing a new long-term contract with him this morning, the day ended in a positive way as we achieved another double finish. We knew that the Option tyres would work better, which is why we completed most of the race with them and waited until the very end to use the Primes. Jérôme struggled at the start of the race but after the first pit-stop found his way when the fuel load lightened and came back at Ricciardo, overtaking him in the second stint. We had a small issue with Timo’s braking system towards the end of the race and this slowed his pace. Overall, a pleasing result with the team working well under pressure. We now complete a quick turnaround and travel over to Hungary for what we hope will be another good weekend.”
Credit: Virgin Racing (www.virginracing.com)
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