Interview with Force India’s Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil

Despite an effective strategy in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, Adrian Sutil was unable to make the most of a race which featured a collision under Safety Car conditions and a drive-through penalty. The German Force India drivers shares his version of events.

Adrian, how did things go at the original start?
After the start I had quite a big problem with the Wet tires. The pressures went up too high and I had no chance. So then I decided to go in the pits and take an Intermediate set, and it was quite good at that time, but just for a few laps. Then the rain became really heavy and I was lucky that they stopped the race, otherwise I would have had to come in for another pit-stop.

What was it like to have to wait for two hours?
I was sitting in my garage, so it was okay. I was hoping to start the race and I was wondering how long we could actually wait and what was the deadline. So it was nice that we could restart it again and also go the full race distance.

How did things go after the restart?
I was in P13 or something and decided after the restart to go straight into the pits for another set of Intermediates. That was the right call. Michael (Schumacher) came in as well. It was a very good strategy and I gained a few positions there.

Later you had a drive-through penalty for passing Rosberg behind the Safety Car. How did that happen?
The race started to go wrong for me when I touched Rosberg’s rear tire under the Safety Car for Alonso’s crash. Vettel slowed down the pack so much and I almost had to stop. My wing was damaged but the car felt okay and my pace was still good. I caught Alguersuari and decided to take the risk of switching early to Slicks.

Then I got a drive-through penalty for overtaking Rosberg under the Safety Car. He slowed down on the straight because he thought he had a puncture, so that is something that I was surprised about. There was no other chance for me to react. I think was a little bit unlucky.

You hit the wall when you were trying to make up ground. How frustrating was that?
It’s never nice to retire from a race and it’s the first retirement of the year for me. This kind of race you just want to finish. There’s always a possibility of points. Both of us had a big chance to get points, but at the same time you have to take some risks. That’s what I did in the end. I was a bit unlucky in Turn 7, when I lost the rear and touched the wall. The suspension broke and I had to give up.

Wasn’t that where you touched the wall in practice?
I have to say it is the same place! I know a few walls here…

Can you believe how dramatic the race was?
The ups and downs were unbelievable; if you see Button with six stops, or six times through the pits, and he still won the race. That’s a very crazy race. Of course the most important thing is to stay on the circuit.