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Pastor Maldonado finished twelfth whilst Romain Grosjean was classified
seventeenth in a pit stop-plentiful Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Romain’s race started with promise, running in the top ten, but ended
eight laps shy of the chequered flag after a Power Unit issue. Pastor
made a poor getaway at the start, but fought back from eighteenth to
twelfth at the chequered flag.
Romain started from P14 on new medium compound tyres. He changed to
fresh medium compound tyres on lap 24 then scrubbed medium compound
tyres on lap 40, changing to a final set of new soft compound tyres on
lap 59.
Pastor started from P16 on new soft compound tyres. He changed to new
medium compound tyres on laps 4 and 27 then scrubbed mediums on lap 45.
Romain Grosjean, P17, E22-03
“The start of the race was good and we were able to run high up in the
field quite quickly. We had to switch from a two-stop to a three-stop
strategy half way through the race however and that came with some
challenges. A lot of work was done to improve the car’s performance this
weekend so it’s hard not to be able to finish. We’ll be looking into
what happened and make sure we’re ready to make the most of the double
points on offer for the next race.”
Pastor Maldonado, P12, E22-02
“It was a tough race. We had to switch from a two-stop to a three-stop
strategy due to high tyre wear which meant our race was compromised. My
start wasn’t great but we managed to be a lot more competitive towards
the end of the race and were aiming for points. I tried my best and was
hoping to overtake Valtteri Bottas but it wasn’t possible in the end.
We’ll be pushing hard in Abu Dhabi, that’s for sure.”
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal
"Today we expected a better result on track, especially after some of
the evidence to suggest we could have a reasonably decent race. Neither
driver experienced a perfect day. Pastor struggled at the start, but
then fought back to make up a lot of places. Romain was able to run high
up the order early-on but we had to change strategy which penalised him,
but not as much as his engine failure. Now our focus is Abu Dhabi and
the double points available there.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director
"Today’s race didn’t go the way we wanted it. Pastor didn’t get a good
start off the line and Romain’s car was unable to make it to the
chequered flag. We were hoping to capitalise on better tyre life than
our rivals, and although we were able stretch more durable performance
from the medium compound than some, it was insufficient to secure fewer
pit stops for us which meant no advantage. We have one race remaining in
2014 where we will push to gain some final points from this season, then
our focus is 100% on 2015.”
Simon Rebreyend, Renault Sport F1 track support leader
“Everything went well on Pastor’s side of the garage today and it was
good to see him work his way up to twelfth after a difficult qualifying
session. The hotter temperatures and high altitude make Interlagos one
of the tougher venues for the new Power Units, but we managed to deal
with those circumstances pretty well in the end. Romain’s strategy meant
he should have been a factor over the final stint, but unfortunately he
had a Power Unit issue that lead to his ICE losing a cylinder. Hopefully
he can bounce back in Abu Dhabi and close out the season with a strong
result.”
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