Pascal Wehrlein was disappointed that the Manor Racing MRT team lost their grip on tenth place in the Constructors’ Championship during the Brazilian Grand Prix, despite the German running as high as ninth early in the tricky conditions on Sunday.
The German admitted conditions were terrible throughout in Brazil, and although he thought about switching from the Full Wets to the Intermediate tyres, he did not feel confident enough to make the switch.
“Conditions were terrible – all the way through the race,” admitted Wehrlein. “Even when the rain subsided, the track was holding so much water.
“It was such a gamble for anyone making the switch from the Extreme Wet tyres to the Inters. The conditions were close at times, but not close enough. I was aquaplaning still and then the risk was that we could be brave, yes, but if we end up in the wall, we’ve gained nothing.
“Plus, the visibility was quite bad. It was a very nerve-wracking race with conditions I’m not keen to experience again anytime soon.”
With Felipe Nasr securing the first points of the season for the Sauber F1 Team with ninth, this put the Swiss team ahead of Manor in the standings with just one race remaining in Abu Dhabi, where Wehrlein will be pushing to reclaim that tenth place in the standings.
“Well, it’s happened, but we have to keep working hard and pushing,” said Wehrlein. “Today showed that anything can still happen, although I’m not expecting any rain in Abu Dhabi. Racing can be unpredictable, so we’ll keep fighting.”