Malaysian GP team-by-team: Virgin

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Virgin achieved their first race finish thanks to Lucas di Grassi – but they might have got both cars home had Timo Glock not crashed out.

Nonetheless technical director Nick Wirth was pleased the team had finally seen the chequered flag:

We’ve come in for heavy criticism for our radical low-cost design approach and relative inexperience in F1, which makes our performance throughout the weekend all the more satisfying. Finishing our first Grand Prix as the leading new team will give us lots of information and we’ve got some clear direction on issues to address for Shanghai, which will allow us to perform better all round, without distracting us too much from the bigger Barcelona upgrade. So once again, well done to everyone at Virgin Racing and we now looking forward to building on this platform.
Nick Wirth

Timo GlockLucas di Grassi
Qualifying position1624
Qualifying time1’52.398 (-7.579)1’59.977
Race position14
Average race lap1’58.423 (+10.81)1’47.613
Laps1/5653/56
Pit stops01
Malaysian GP lap times - Virgin (click to enlarge)

Timo Glock

Got out early in the wet Q1 and set a time quick enough to secure his passage through to Q2 for the first time this year.

Fell behind Jarno Trulli in the first-lap scramble and spun trying to pass the Lotus at turn nine on the second lap. The anti-stall failed to cut in on his engine and Glock’s race was over.

Compare Timo Glock’s form against his team mate in 2010

Lucas di Grassi

Work on di Grassi’s VR-01 before qualifying over-ran, meaning he wasn’t able to get out in time for the driest part of the session, which is how he ended up last on the grid, 2.7s slower than Bruno Senna’s HRT.

In the race Di Grassi lost his front wing endplate when he was clipped by Heikki Kovalainen as the Lotus driver tried a pass at turn four.

Nonetheless he brought his car home 14th, three laps down, for Virgin’s first classified finish.

Compare Lucas di Grassi’s form against his team mate in 2010

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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3 comments on “Malaysian GP team-by-team: Virgin”

  1. Is it just me but is all this “finishing the race” speak just a little overrated. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great achievement, but not a massive one in my opinion if you have to turn everything down (and hence not really ‘race’) in order to achieve it.

    Still, I’m pleased that they did.

    1. I tend to agree, I think it was more of an achievement for HRT who had zero testing.

  2. Well, considering that Virgin and Sauber already once completely missed the race, finishing with two cars is a giant step forward. A feat established by HRT but not yet achieved by Virgin, Lotus, Sauber and Toro Rosso.
    Maybe after Barcelone we can see the progress or lack of progress of these teams. It will be the thing to look forward to since BArcelone is always a boring race to watch (unless raining).

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