Barrichello pleased with “huge move” on Sutil

Williams race review

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Barrichello’s pass on Sutil helped Williams secure their sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

Rubens BarrichelloNico Hulkenberg
Qualifying position715
Qualifying time comparison (Q2)1’40.476 (-0.942)1’41.418
Race position1216
Laps55/5555/55
Pit stops11

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Rubens Barrichello

Took up ‘best of the rest’ in seventh behind the three top teams and held it at the start, defending his position from Michael Schumacher at the chicane.

He dropped back quickly from Felipe Massa at the restart, holding up Kamui Kobayashi and Robert Kubica.

His lap 18 pit stop took him out of the picture completely, dropping him behind Nick Heidfeld and losing several further places to end the race 12th.

However he was pleased to demote Adrian Sutil after the Force India driver’s pit stop which helped guarantee the team sixth in the constructors’ championship:

I had a really good battle with Sutil who ran long into the race, and he left his pit stop in front of me, but I dived past him on the outside of turn 4. It was a huge move, exhilarating and really the best part of a race that was pretty flat out, so in a way it was a surprise to finish so far back.
Rubens Barrichello

Compare Rubens Barrichello’s form against his team mate in 2010

Nico Hulkenberg

No giant-killing this weekend. He couldn’t make the super-soft tyres work for him in Q2 and ended up almost a second slower than his team mate in 15th – his worst qualifying position since Istanbul (ignoring penalties).

Like his team mate, he struggled for pace in the race and slipped back to 16th.

Compare Nico Hulkenberg’s form against his team mate in 2010

Director of engineering Patrick Head said:

To finish 12th and 16th from seventh and 15th is not something to be pleased about. Our race pace clearly doesn’t match our qualifying pace, so that’s something we need to improve over the winter for 2011.

Ultimately, of the various goals for the weekend, the main one was to finish ahead of Force India and retain sixth in the championship, which we achieved.
Patrick Head

Technical director Sam Michael explained that the team had gone into the weekend with the aim of ensuring they finished ahead of Force India:

We had good qualifying pace, but we didn’t score points in the race. Our target from the outset was pretty clear; to cover Force India, even if it meant losing points to other teams in the top 10.

Of course we want to do our best at every race because that’s the business we’re in.

However, it’s also important to consolidate your position in the constructors’ championship because it is has a direct bearing on the FOM income you receive for the following season. Retaining sixth was therefore very important.
Sam Michael

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    Keith Collantine
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    7 comments on “Barrichello pleased with “huge move” on Sutil”

    1. A shame we did not get to see much of that fights Barricello had after he dropped back.

      1. Once again FOM fails to show the action that’s actually happening in a race that otherwise seems boring.

    2. Rubens said to the Brazilian press that he was unsure of his position in the race. When he saw Sutil in front of him, he thought they’d be fighting for points and, thus, 6th place in the Constructor’s championship. When he made his “huge” pass, he said he was thrilled that such a good move was also securing a few extra Million Dollars for the team next year. So when he got to the pits at the end he found the team was not too excited about it, and only then he discovered that it hadn’t made a difference on the championship…

      1. I like how Rubens enjoys driving, not like other that don’t care of just points.

    3. I think williams needs to look at their strategies. They always lose positions when they pit.
      I also need to say that Nico has come a very long way. He pretty much has the pace of Barrichello anymore, and he’s no slouch! I don’t always think it’s the drivers that need to change to get better, but perhaps the “smart” people.

      1. I think williams needs to look at their strategies. They always lose positions when they pit.

        I think it’s ultimately a function of them having much better qualifying than race pace, particularly in the last few races. There’s not much you can do strategy-wise to protect yourself in that situation.

        Neither of their drivers took the opportunity to pit under the safety car, though, which might have been a missed opportunity.

        1. Yea, that’s a good point. Nico in Brazil is a good example of their race to qualy paces.

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