ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX – RACE 2012

A dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit this evening saw Michael Schumacher finish just outside the points in 11th place whilst Nico Rosberg retired following a collision.

•  An incident on lap one which damaged his front wing caused Nico to box for a new nose dropping him to P21
• He subsequently retired on lap eight after a heavy collision with the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan
• Michael was going well on a one-stop prime/option strategy and was running in eighth place by lap 41
• He picked up a puncture from debris and had to make an additional stop which dropped him out of the points

Michael Schumacher

Unfortunately we have to say that again we suffered bad luck today. Due to the puncture I had to do another pit stop very late in the race which lost me a points scoring position. Of course this is part of the game and you cannot do anything about it but it was a real pity as we had reasonable pace and could have taken some points. Towards the end of the race I was hoping to close the gap to the top ten, and we were making good progress, but it just didn’t work out.

Nico Rosberg

My car felt competitive today so it’s a real shame not to have finished the race and scored some points. Unfortunately that chance was gone after the first lap incident with Romain, after which I had to come into the pits for a new nose. Then there was the accident which put me out of the race. Narain told me that his steering broke and he needed to brake which I didn’t expect in that high-speed corner. There was no time for me to react, and I’m very thankful that we are both fine. I went to the medical centre for a precautionary check but everything is good. I will look forward now and hope for a better two races to end the season.

Ross Brawn

We had a reasonable car today so it’s disappointing not to have picked up any points. Nico’s front wing was damaged on the first lap which meant an early stop but he was going well after that. His accident on lap seven was fairly dramatic and we obviously need to have a look at what happened. Karthikeyan reported a problem with his car and certainly it looked very unusual. Thankfully both drivers were fine afterwards. Michael drove a strong race and we had a good strategy but unfortunately he picked up a puncture in the debris left from the various accidents which made the end of his race very difficult. The dice just aren’t falling for us at the moment but the positive is that the car was better this weekend so we just need to keep working hard.

Norbert Haug

Nico´s race lasted only seven laps today, and thankfully his accident ended without any serious consequences. Before that, his front wing change on the first lap after a collision with another car put him back to the back of the field. Michael was in seventh position when he picked up debris, and subsequently a puncture, during the safety car period which dropped him back to 11th place after his additional pit stop which is where he finished.

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX – RACE 2012

Michael Schumacher finished the Japanese Grand Prix in 11th place this afternoon, having started from 23rd on the grid. Team-mate Nico Rosberg was forced to retire on the first lap after being hit by another car.

• Michael ran a two-stop prime/option/option strategy, stopping on laps 17 and 36
• His strategy made full use of his two available new sets of option tyres to gain 12 positions
• In the final stint, he caught the cars ahead of him at over a second a lap but was unable to pass for P10
• Nico was eliminated by a collision in turn two when he was hit from behind by Bruno Senna´s Williams

Michael Schumacher

I have mixed feelings after the race here in Japan, because it´s obviously unfortunate to come so close to scoring points and not manage it, after a race which went better than we expected. In the final laps, I had a nice and interesting battle with Ricciardo, but in the end I couldn´t get past him because the Toro Rosso was so quick on the straights. That´s why we have to say we couldn´t have got much more out of it today. Now let´s see how things go in Korea.

Nico Rosberg

I had a good start to the race but unfortunately it ended fairly quickly today. In the first corner Grosjean spun into Webber and that also led to my accident. I began to brake but Senna crashed into me from behind which destroyed my rear tyre and meant that I had to retire. It’s a shame as I felt very comfortable with my car on the installation lap, and I was confident that we could score some decent points. I’ll now hope for a better weekend in Korea.

Ross Brawn

From where he started today, Michael drove a strong race, and it’s a shame that he didn’t get some points for his efforts. However starting from 23rd on the grid made that just too much of a challenge, despite a very good strategy and encouraging pace from the car in the lower temperatures. The accident which caused Nico’s retirement was a great shame as the car was in good shape and he could have scored decent points if he hadn’t been taken out. There were some encouraging signs in the race and we will take heart from that as we continue to work on improving the car.

Norbert Haug

A good performance and a good drive from Michael during the race, which saw us posting good lap times for the first time this weekend - and Michael setting the sixth fastest lap time around three-quarters of the way through the race. After starting P23 following his ten-place grid penalty, Michael came home in P11, chasing the car ahead during the last seven laps. He caught him quickly, setting better lap times in the final stint, but in the end he unfortunately could not overtake to score the last available point. Nico was eliminated during the first corner crash through no fault of his own, so no points today for him or our team. We are now looking forward to the race next weekend in Korea.