Charles Pic leads Marussia team-mate Timo Glock before retiring from the Bahrain Grand Prix - Photo Credit: Marussia F1
Marussia leave Bahrain this evening feeling disappointed after recording their first retirement of the 2012 season.
Charles Pic lasted just 24 laps into the 57-lap race at the Sakhir circuit, whilst Timo Glock had to contend with an off-blaance on his way to finishing nineteenth.
“It was a very difficult race today,” said Glock. “I had no balance in the car, no speed and no chance to push after the second or third lap. The rear tyres dropped off massively and every time I did try to push, the rears locked under braking and I had no braking stability.
“Unfortunately this is a weekend to learn from then put behind us quite quickly. We have had a complex journey from Friday to Sunday and we need to retrace our steps and look at the set-up decisions we made in order to understand how we can improve and apply the updated package from Spain.”
Pic said he is pleased with how the opening races have gone, barring the retirement here in Bahrain, but is hoping for more from the car at the next race in Barcelona. “Naturally I am disappointed, as the race was tough but I was quite happy with the car and managing the tyre wear quite well,” said the French rookie. “Despite the challenging track conditions I was still able to push and I think we were sitting quite well versus the pace of the Caterhams.
“Unfortunately on lap 24 I had a problem with the Air Valve System and I had no option but to retire the car, which is frustrating for me and the team as they have worked very hard to keep us moving forward here all weekend. As we head to Europe now I have to be pleased with the opening few races in general, but we need to be focused now on improvements for Spain. ”
Marussia team principal John Booth explained the problems that hampered the team today, but also had some praise for Pic and the team as a whole.
“On a positive note, in today's race we saw a continuation of Charles' increasingly strong form and consolidation of his good work from yesterday,” said Booth. “It's a real shame that the as yet undiagnosed AVS problem on the engine forced an early retirement during a period of the race where Charles was very competitive with respect to the cars that he was racing.
“Timo was also beset by the same engine issue and we'll work hard with Cosworth in the next few days to understand the causes of these problems. Unfortunately, our slightly bigger issue has been with the handling characteristics of Timo's car, which came into play from Saturday morning onwards. We have to identify and properly understand the problems that he has been experiencing with the car.
“Fortunately the Mugello test in one week's time will provide us with some opportunity to iron out these issues away from the pressures of a race weekend.
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the team on a job very well done throughout the first four races, which have each brought their own unique challenges. We leave the opening long haul leg behind a much stronger team and with plenty of cause for optimism for the start of the European season.”
