Pascal Wehrlein was left disappointed after seeing his chances of a good result at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza disappear in a cloud of smoke on Sunday.
The Manor Racing driver was not in the fight for points but was driving competitively before being told to stop the car by his mechanics with a mechanical issue, with Wehrlein admitting his disbelief at what he was hearing.
“Pretty disappointed, of course,” said Wehrlein. “When I heard my engineer telling me to “Stop the car. Stop the car”, I couldn’t believe it. I had to check what I was hearing.
“Of course, it was for good reason, to protect the car, so I knew what I had to do – I just didn’t want to believe it, I guess.”
Wehrlein admits that the retirement is made even harder because of Manor’s recent upswing in performance, especially after two consecutive visits to the second phase of qualifying and getting in between the McLaren-Honda’s on Saturday.
“The team is making really positive steps with the car, though the positive signs must make today’s retirement all the more tough to take,” said Wehrlein. “Splitting two McLarens in qualifying, the expectation that you can fight for Q2, if not higher, and fending off the competition in qualifying and in the race.
“Yes, today’s situation is difficult to take, knowing what is possible from the car and having pushed so hard all weekend again.
“But I know the team will want to sort the problems out as quickly as possible; it’s disappointing for everyone and we can’t afford for a good result to get away from us again if we are to protect our position in the championship.
“We’ll come back fighting in Singapore, a race I’m really excited about. I hope we can make it happen for us there.”
