Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher said that the team had achieved a "great result" at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, as the seven-time champion led team mate Nico Rosberg home in 5th and 6th places at the end of the race.
The Mercedes team ran strongly behind the front three teams all race-long, and picked up places as both Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton hit trouble ahead of them.Schumacher had run behind Rosberg for most of the race, but leapfrogged his team mate at the final pit stops after the younger German pitted early for the hard Pirelli tyres.
But afterwards, the team celebrated an all-round strong performance, with Schumacher saying that it had been the best result possible.
"I am obviously happy about the race today," Schumacher smiled, "We achieved the maximum that we could hope for, and as a team we maximised our potential. Fifth and sixth places are a great result for us.
"On top of that, my car was very nicely sorted for the race and very stable."
He added: "In the second stint, I managed to maintain my tyres so I could stay out longer and that was enough for fifth place. What's really important at the moment is that we keep pushing and trying to improve, and that is what we achieved today."
His team mate Rosberg added that he was happy with the result, but admitted that his own strategy had not been a particularly strong one.
"We can be happy with a good team result and that's what the boys in the garage deserved. I'm also pleased to have gained one place on my grid position," he rambled.
"However my strategy was not perfect today and I lost some time in the second pit stop which meant that I wasn't able stay ahead of Michael.
"I had good pace at the end of the race and pushed very hard but it was impossible to catch him over the last laps."
He added: "I'm confident that we can repeat this good result in the last two races."
Team boss Ross Brawn added: "A very solid race from the drivers and team today, and we are very pleased to have achieved fifth and sixth places.
"Michael, Nico and the engineers did an excellent job to focus on getting the car right for the race, and making the best use of the tyres.
"We certainly got everything that we could out of our current car this weekend. It was a very good result for the team today and I'm extremely pleased with how we have worked this weekend."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
