OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Barcelona, Spain, May 22, 2011
Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg finished the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona today in sixth and seventh places.
• Michael had a three-stop option/option/option/prime strategy, stopping on laps 10, 26 & 41
• Nico followed the same strategy, stopping one lap later than Michael on laps 11, 27, 42
• Nico’s car lost radio communication early in the race, and he was hampered by a DRS malfunction
Michael Schumacher
“We managed to make the most out of our possibilities today which is good news, especially for our guys who I am happy for. I had a good start; going right through the middle was tight but fortunately it worked out. Then the race was about holding position from there. We can be happy with the result but other than that, it was just tricky with oversteer, tyre degradation and poor balance to deal with. Still we achieved what we could have, and I look forward to going to Monaco.”
Nico Rosberg
“It was a difficult race for me after I lost radio communication with the team early on which was tough, and my DRS was not working properly which made any overtaking almost impossible. I had fun in the battle with Michael for P6, although I wasn’t able to attack him fully and was therefore stuck behind him for most of the race. I’m now looking forward to my home Grand Prix in Monaco. I love the track and I’m sure we can be closer to the front there.”
Ross Brawn
“It was a tough race today but we achieved everything that we could have with sixth and seventh places. We opted to start Michael on the option tyres as his reconnaissance laps at the start showed the grip levels were marginal. Both drivers had good starts, particularly Michael, and credit to the team for that. Then we had a pretty controlled race with good work on the strategy and in the pits. Obviously we have ground to make up on the cars in front and we will keep working hard.”
Norbert Haug
“We achieved the result that was possible for us today with Michael in sixth and Nico in seventh place. Michael had a great start on new options and gained four places which was the foundation of his final result. Nico suffered from various problems; from a radio which did not work to a rear wing malfunction. Our strategy and our pit stops worked very well but our speed was not where it needs to be. The fact that everybody behind Red Bull and McLaren Mercedes was lapped today shows that there is a lot of work to do for the rest of the field. We are now looking forward to the great Monaco race next weekend.”
* Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *
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