BWT Racing Point F1 Team were able to bring home a decent amount of points in a chaotic Austrian Grand Prix, but team principal Otmar Szafnauer admitted that the race was definitely disappointing in a few regards.
Sergio Perez was in position to possibly claim a podium finish, but due to not pitting under the second safety car, the Mexican found himself under fire from cars behind him with fresher tyres.
He was able to bring home eight points finishing sixth, but Szafnauer admitted that it was “frustrating” watching that unfold.
“It’s frustrating to see a podium slip away in the final few laps, but it was difficult to hold off those cars with a tyre advantage,” Szafnauer said.
“With so many safety car interruptions, we had some difficult decisions to make and we chose to preserve track position rather than pit.
“The cars behind us effectively had free pit stops and could react to what we did – pitting when we chose to stay out. That was certainly the case with the McLarens and Leclerc.”
Racing Point had the pace to have both cars finish in the points Sunday, however Lance Stroll lost power in his engine and was forced to retire on lap 22. Szafnauer said that the team is looking into exactly what caused the issue.
“It was disappointing to see Lance retire early when the car started to lose power,” he said.
“The investigation is underway on what caused that, but ultimately, after attempting to fix the problem through mode changes failed, protecting the power unit was the priority.”
