Q. Tell us about your start to the race?
Adrian Sutil: “I had a good start but after 50 metres I saw Kobayashi was so slow. I was already in the middle of the track, and I actually had to brake, lost all the acceleration and lost two positions to Paul and Petrov. On the next lap I gained a position back from Petrov, so I was right behind Paul.”
Q. How did things unfold from there?
AS: “The race was not so bad, but it was just a bit disappointing, because I was always stuck behind another car, and I couldn’t go faster. I had quite a good feeling and the car was going well. Then when the safety car came out I had done my pit stop a lap earlier. So I lost a few positions because of that and I was always stuck behind cars again after the restart. I was always in traffic, so I lost a lot of race time.
Q. In the closing stages you were caught by drivers on soft tyres. Was it impossible to defend?
AS: “In the end I was running ninth in the last 10 laps, but the gap to Petrov and Rosberg was not big enough to get it to the line so I lost my positions. That’s why I think we could gave scored points with let’s say a cleaner race, and definitely without the safety car.”
Q. You seemed to be behind Paul a lot of the time!
AS: “Yes most of the time it was Paul, but also some other cars. We went well, I really enjoyed the race, and it was a great race to drive, with a lot of overtaking. From that point it was nice, but it’s disappointing because we need every point for the championship.”
Q. In previous races one of you has started on the options and one on the primes. Could the team have tried that again?
AS: “I think this time at the start it was very important to be on the softs, because it’s tougher to pass, or at least I thought it was. In the end it wasn’t really, it was quite easy to pass. But we thought the start was important and that’s why we chose the soft.”
Q. Korea is next. What are your memories of last year?
AS: “It was OK at a few stages, but actually I had a bad race. I made a lot of mistakes and my brakes were glazed during the race. I was catching people up, overtaking, making a mistake, losing a position again, and in the end I crashed with Kobayashi! The track is very nice, but it was very slippery in the wet conditions. And the safety car was out for so long – It was a tricky race. I want to do much better this year.”
Q. The track has distinct fast and slow sections. Did you find it challenging?
AS: “Yes, it has everything – very interesting sections. There are long straights, which will be good for the DRS, and also a kind of esses, in third gear and fourth gear, and very enjoyable to drive. I’m just hoping there are some kerbs on the exit of some corners, which were missing last year.”
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