Another cruel end to an otherwise strong weekend for Romain in Malaysia, as torrential rain resulted in an early exit at the Sepang International Circuit. The unlucky Frenchman talks us through his race.
Romain, bitterly disappointing to be talking to you so early in the day, especially after more bad luck in Melbourne. What happened out there?
There was a lot of standing water at turn 3 and it was a struggle just to keep the car on the track. When we got to turn 4 Mark (Webber) managed to carry a bit more speed through the corner and edged in front. Michael (Schumacher) tried to follow him through but there was not enough space so we touched and I spun. From there things became really tough. The visibility was so poor I couldn’t see anything in front of me. We made the decision to stay out on the intermediate tyres but the rain got heavier and there was far too much water. I had massive aquaplaning into turn 5 and unfortunately ended up going backwards into the gravel. Once you head in there facing the wrong way it’s almost impossible to get back out.
You had a few issues getting of the line in Melbourne, but that start today was fantastic. Can you talk us through it?
We got a perfect start. The team did a great job giving me the right setup for the wet even though we hadn’t run in these conditions before. We got a good jump on the others and with the KERS I managed to weave through the cars in front without touching anybody. Coming out of the first two corners we were up to third which was an amazing feeling.
Unfortunately you didn’t have many laps today, but how did the car feel on your first proper run with the intermediate tyres?
It’s difficult to say really. On the first lap the tyres were cold and the field was really close so it was very slippery. Then we had the incident at turn 4 and from there the rain got heavier making it almost impossible to see. It would have been good to have more time to see how the tyres work but that’s how it goes.
You’ve mentioned the spray and how poor the visibility was out there; how do you know where to brake, turn and so on?
You have to try and spot different things around the track, as looking for the markers is pointless; you just don’t have the visibility to see them through all the spray. For example, as a distance guide for turn 1 you can use the lights as the pit lane exit. It’s a challenge, but you just have to pick out reference points and judge the conditions as best you can.
Although you’ve had terrible luck in the first two races, it must be encouraging to know that you have the pace to run at the front of the pack?
Absolutely, and I have to thank the team for that as they have been doing an unbelievable job to get us where we are. It’s just a shame we couldn’t build on that good start because we were right where we wanted to be; up there fighting for a podium. We’ve proved we have the speed, and with a little bit more luck we have a real chance to be battling at the front of the pack.