Nico Rosberg – 7th: “I’m pleased that we made a step forward today but we could perhaps have finished higher. In Q1, I hit a kerb quite heavily and damaged the floor which lost some of the car’s downforce for the rest of qualifying. I was on my quickest lap at the end of Q3 but unfortunately I had to slow down for the yellow flag after Felipe’s incident so that cost me some time. I will push hard to gain places tomorrow and have a good race on this fantastic track. I’m guessing it will be an exciting race and the Indian people should be proud to have one of the best tracks in the world of motorsport now!”

Michael Schumacher – 12th: “Qualifying today was not really very good for us. At first I hit some traffic, and then on my final run in Q2, there was again vibrations on the set of tyres which I used which was not helpful. Saying that, this certainly does not explain the time gap to Nico so we need to understand what the reason was for that and get on top of it. As for the race tomorrow, this should work out better for me, and my aim undoubtedly is to score some points. I’m not really sure which side of the grid will be the better one, so I will just take it from there and try to gain as much as possible.”

Ross Brawn: “It was an exciting and tense qualifying session today. We got caught out a little in traffic on occasions which didn’t help as it was particularly close out there. It’s a shame that we didn’t get through to Q3 with Michael, and he was unhappy with his final set of tyres. Nico did a great job, especially considering that he was struggling a little with the car yesterday, so all credit to him and his team for getting the car in good shape for qualifying. Our runs on high fuel this weekend have been encouraging so we are looking forward to the race tomorrow at this impressive new track.”

Norbert Haug: “A good job from Nico today and a good qualifying strategy from our team with just one run in Q3 to save tyres for the race. Michael missed getting into the top ten by 0.018s and the gap to P8 was less than two-tenths which shows how intense the battle is. Our target tomorrow is to achieve the best possible result behind the top three teams and hopefully finish in the top six rankings which we achieved three times in the last five races. The new circuit and facilities here in Greater Noida are very impressive and it is very positive for Formula One to be present in such a vibrant country full of passion and friendliness.”

Fernando Alonso: – 4th: “It was important to get onto the front two rows, as it’s easier to fight for a good result from here. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two vertical lines of the grid because the ideal line on the start-finish straight goes down the middle, so both sides are quite dirty. In fact the dirt off the racing line could be a problem for overtaking with whoever initiates the move having to give it everything without hesitating. So far, this weekend has gone as expected and now we will try and do a good job tomorrow. It would be very nice to bring home one of the trophies that will be handed out to those who make it to the podium on Formula 1′s debut in India. I came very close to the front row, which is a bit of a surprise. In recent qualifying sessions, we have not managed to get as close as this to our main rivals and already yesterday we looked reasonably competitive. Usually, on Sunday our performance level is better but that does not automatically mean that we will be fighting for the win. There are too many unknowns, even more than usual and then, we have seen how things can change from one track to another. In Suzuka, we came within a whisker of the win and in Singapore we were not competitive. We will be doing our best, that’s for sure.”

Felipe Massa – 6th: “What happened on my last timed lap was a real shame. Today, we had the potential to secure a good placing, as Fernando demonstrated and as can also be seen from the fact my sixth best time was set with a rather slow third sector. I came into Turn 8 and went over the kerb and the front right suspension gave way in the impact with the raised orange part, which in my opinion is too high at this point. It’s a very fast corner, taken at around 215 km/h and it could be arranged differently. These are details that need improving for next year. I repeat, I am disappointed, because the car has been going well all weekend long. Now I find myself with one less set of Softs and with a broken front wing. It was the new one, which we had here for the first time and it delivered a bit extra in terms of performance. Tomorrow, overtaking will be difficult because of the dirt on track, but I think we will still see a lot.”

Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, I wish to congratulate the organisers of this Grand Prix. Bringing Formula 1 to India is a great achievement and they and Bernie Ecclestone deserve the credit for it. This country is growing rapidly, even if there are sharp contrasts, but never before have we seen our sport welcomed with such enthusiasm and interest from the general public. As for qualifying, I have to say our car’s overall performance was good: being less than a tenth off the front row – Vettel was once again untouchable – means that we are not looking too bad at this track. We are obviously disappointed for Felipe, who has been very quick all weekend: accidents like this can happen, but the important thing is that the driver is fine. Usually, our race pace is better than our outright performance in qualifying: let’s hope that is also the case tomorrow and we can leave India with a good result under our belt.”

Pat Fry: “I don’t know if our mechanics will take home happy memories of this race, because we’ve definitely given them a lot to do over the past two days. Yesterday, there was an unexpected engine change on Fernando’s car and today we have to repair Felipe’s car. As for the performance we saw in qualifying, the verdict is reasonably positive. The 150º Italia proved to be very competitive in the first two sectors of the track and given its characteristics, the performance in the second is encouraging. However, we struggled a bit more in the last one, especially when compared to Vettel’s Red Bull. The new front wing allows more room to manoeuvre when it comes to aerodynamic balance, which is always positive. The Soft tyres seem to be at their best on the second timed lap and degradation appears to be lower than expected and similar to what we saw in Korea, where the track was equally smooth. We need to find the best strategy and, in Felipe’s case, minimise the loss of one set of Softs which were damaged in the accident.”

Gerhard Berger has accused Mark Webber of wanting to take out a championship rival after crashing in Sunday’s Korean grand prix.

Australian Webber, who at the time was leading the world championship by 14 points, spun on a wet kerb whilst running second at Yeongam and struck the wall.

But his Red Bull then rolled back across the circuit, collecting the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

“I don’t understand why Webber didn’t hit the brakes,” said Rosberg. “It was crazy to roll back across the track like that.”

Former grand prix winner Berger said on Monday: “He could have hit the brakes and stopped the car at the wall.

“He took out Rosberg, but it was the wrong one. I think in his mind he would have preferred Alonso or Hamilton,” the former Ferrari and McLaren driver told Austrian Servus TV.

Asked to clarify whether he thinks Webber’s move was deliberate, Berger – a former co-owner of the second Red Bull team Toro Rosso – added: “Yes, I think that’s very clear.

“He goes off and he knows it’s over. In this moment you’re frustrated and a thousand thoughts go through your head.

“It’s very obvious, you can see his wheels are not locked up. Perhaps he had a brake problem, but I don’t think so.”

The union of formula one drivers, the GPDA, revealed in Korea last weekend their push for more influence in the sport’s decision-making processes.

According to the German magazine Speed Week, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association – now headed by president Rubens Barrichello – met at the Yeongam circuit with FIA president Jean Todt.

“We want a permanent dialogue with the governing body,” Brazilian Barrichello, accompanied to the meeting by fellow GPDA directors Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa, is quoted as saying.

According to another German language report in motorline.cc, Barrichello and his colleagues believe some of the problems in Korea – like troublesome kerbs and the dangerous pit entry – would not have been encountered if the drivers were more seriously canvassed.

“It was ok,” Barrichello said after the meeting with Todt.

“We discussed three or four things and he was very open. All we want is for the GPDA to be able to contribute more to the future of the sport,” he added.

The FIA has reacted swiftly to drivers’ concerns about the pit entry in Korea.

Numerous drivers on Friday warned that the fact the entry to the new Yeongam circuit’s pitlane is on the racing line in a fast corner is a safety issue.

“Someone coming into the pits will be slower than the guy behind who is staying on the track,” said Sebastian Vettel.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that, after meeting with the drivers late on Friday, race director Charlie Whiting has agreed to a quick fix.

The white line on the pit entry is being removed overnight, meaning drivers coming into the pits can remain on the power through the fast corner and then sweep into the pits at the last moment.

“So the difference in pace between those coming into the pits and those staying out is not so great,” confirmed Mark Webber.

It is also believed that a kerb at another fast corner is being slightly relocated, while the height difference between the kerbs and the track at turns 16 and 10 will also be attended to in the future.

“I am sure it’s just teething problems and people will look at that and see what they can do,” said McLaren and FOTA boss Martin Whitmarsh.

More generally, following the media’s horror stories of the past months, the F1 paddock seemed surprisingly happy with the venue on Friday, and the drivers gave the actual layout a big thumbs-up.

Nico Rosberg said Yeongam is “very interesting” with “some great combinations of corners”, and Fernando Alonso agreed the layout has “a bit of everything”.

And the venue itself was also being praised on Friday, despite some minor earlier complaints about electricity and gas supply issues, and internet dropouts in the media centre on Friday.

“With the government and organisers spending this kind of money we need to be thankful as it is something amazing, no doubt about it,” said Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali.

The most genuine complaint is about the accommodation, even though the well-heeled drivers and management are enjoying the five-star Hyundai Hotel.

Buzzing around the paddock are stories told by journalists and mechanics about sex toys in vending machines and rooms that are obviously frequented by prostitutes.

“Maybe they (the organisers) can work on that for the future,” said Vettel.

Spain’s leading FIA official has been told the inaugural Korean grand prix will go ahead as scheduled in two weeks.

Charlie Whiting is only inspecting the Yeongam venue on Monday and Tuesday, but it is believed that selected media have essentially been briefed to the effect that nothing will now lead to the cancellation of the October 24 event.

That follows the latest information and photographs to emerge from Korea, showing that the top layer of asphalt is now complete and curing, that kerbs and barriers are in place and the basic building infrastructure able to accommodate the teams and media.

Indeed, Spain’s AS newspaper said Whiting’s inspection early this week is a “mere formality”.

“The race is going ahead.  This has been confirmed at Suzuka to the president of the Real Federacion Espanola de Automovilismo, Carlos Gracia,” said the report.

Gracia is also a member of the FIA’s authoritative World Motor Sport Council.

Wet weather could play a role at Suzuka this weekend.

Huge amounts of rain have been falling in Japan’s Mie Prefecture recently, but better conditions have prevailed in recent days as the teams set up their garages at the popular circuit.

Indeed, mainly sunny and pleasant weather is forecast for the region for the remainder of the working week, although there could be some showers on Friday.

But Saturday and Sunday could be a different story, with early forecasts predicting up to a 50 per cent possibility of heavy winds and rain.

Meanwhile, a significant change to the Suzuka circuit for 2010 is at the fast double-right corners known as Degner.

The alteration, confirmed by the FIA, follows a number of crashes – including by Mark Webber, Sebastien Buemi, Jamie Alguersuari and Heikki Kovalainen – there last year.

The governing body said a new 25mm “negative kerb” has replaced the old kerb and the green concrete section at the exit of the fast first Degner section.

The Spoon Curve also features modified outside kerbing for 2010, including more artificial grass there and also behind the kerb at the final chicane.

The Italian press rounded on Fernando Alonso after the leading Ferrari driver dropped more than 40 points off the championship lead last weekend.

After showing early promise with the F10′s latest upgrades in practice, the team newcomer qualified just tenth at Spa-Francorchamps before being taken out on the first lap by Rubens Barrichello.

Ferrari then fitted intermediate tyres that had to be changed shortly afterwards, before Alonso lost control over a kerb and crashed.

“An Alonso flop. While Kimi Raikkonen always drove brilliantly at Spa, his successor slipped on a puddle,” remarked the Milan-published Il Giornale.

The sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport said Ferrari’s championship chances “are now gone”.

But that’s not the message being trotted out by the Maranello team’s officials, and La Stampa reports that Ferrari is pressing ahead with development of the car.

In the coming days, a straight line test at Vairano is scheduled.

“In addition to reviewing solutions for Monza, engineers will try to understand why the innovations introduced at Spa-Francorchamps did not work as expected,” said the La Stampa report.

Ferrari acknowledges it is running out of time.

“Everyone in Maranello is aware that if more ground is lost, it could compromise any chance of a comeback,” said the team.

Lucas di Grassi has survived an uncomfortable gaffe within the Virgin team.

After the Hockenheim race, the team’s press officer Tracy Novak reportedly presented both the Brazilian rookie and his teammate Timo Glock with proposed official quotes for the media release.

The normal practice in the team is for the drivers to make proposed changes in writing, before reporters receive the release by email.

Motorsport-total.com reveals that although it was probably a prank, di Grassi, 25, amended German Glock’s official comment.

The quote received by the media read: “It was a difficult start to the race as Lucas overtook me in a brilliant move”.

Glock said: “When I read it I was very surprised — I can guarantee I didn’t say it.”

The German report indicates that Virgin did not see the funny side either, particularly after di Grassi retired from the race due to hitting a kerb too hard.

Mark Webber’s post-qualifying anger became joy on Sunday as the Red Bull driver leapfrogged his teammate Sebastian Vettel in the world championship standings.
The Australian drove to commanding victory in the British grand prix, while polesitter Vettel was passed at the start and then suffered a puncture in a light touch with Lewis Hamilton.

And the young German’s first-corner incident was made worse by Webber edging him over the kerb on the exit of Copse.

“If your question serious?” a frustrated Vettel, who finished seventh, told a BBC reporter when asked if he thought their fight was unfair.

Team boss Christian Horner saw no problem with the moves.

“No — I was perfectly happy with how they worked together through the first turn,” said the Briton.

But after the front wing saga of Saturday, there was some needle between Horner and Webber in their post-race radio exchange.

“Not bad for a number two driver,” said the Australian, before Horner told Webber: “You can smile now.”

Before the race, Webber had declared himself the “underdog”, vowed to “to my best for the guys on my car”, and admitted for the first time that he “wasn’t too happy” about losing his new front wing to Vettel for qualifying.

And within memory of his thunderous face after qualifying, observers said Webber was unprecedentedly elated on the podium.

British legend Sir Stirling Moss said at Silverstone: “I think what Mark should do is say ‘ok, give him (Vettel) the best parts, and I’ll go out and beat him anyway’.”

Albeit admitting that he might “act differently” in the event of a shortage of new parts at subsequent races, Horner said: “It’s amazing how much fuss that one front wing can make.”

Elsewhere, Spanish reports said Fernando Alonso was calm after the race, but BBC presenters announced the Ferrari driver was “too angry” to appear for an interview.

After his anger about Lewis Hamilton’s penalty Valencia, at Silverstone it was Alonso with a drive-through penalty, for illegally overtaking Robert Kubica.

And when asked if Ferrari’s post-Valencia reaction had angered the FIA and provoked Sunday’s penalty, Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni described the question as “malicious”.

Hamilton, second in Britain, is still the championship leader, 12 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Jenson Button, who drove through the field from 14th to 4th at the chequered flag.

In what was a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix with great motor racing. Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa played a rather insignificant role. Kobayashi, coming from 18th on the grid, retired in an incident on lap one after he made a remarkably good start and was fighting for ninth on the back straight. De la Rosa (17th on the grid) was hit by another car on the first lap and had to pit for a new nose. But he managed to recover and raced in 13th before he retired with an engine failure which has yet to be analysed.

Weather: sunny and dry, 25-26°C air, 37-39°C track

Pedro de la Rosa: retired on lap 31, engine
C29.03 / Ferrari 056
“To be left empty handed certainly is deeply disappointing. On the first lap of the race Vitaly Petrov spun in front of me on the straight, and hit my car when he came back from the grass. The front wing was broken and I pitted for a new nose. Also the rear wing had some damage, but it wasn’t too bad. I then continued and the car was quite good. We anticipated my pit stop because suddenly the rear tyres went. After this pit stop it seemed all okay but then on lap 31 I felt a sudden loss of top speed on the straight and knew immediately it was a serious problem.”

Kamui Kobayashi: retired on lap 1, accident
C29.01 / Ferrari 056
“This should not have happened. I had made a very good start from 18th and on the first lap was fighting with Nico Hülkenberg down the back straight for ninth. In front of us was Michael Schumacher, apparently having some troubles with braking before the chicane. All three of us were braking late and then I suddenly had nowhere to go. I hit the kerb, the car jumped and I had damaged it so badly that I had to stop.“

Peter Sauber, Team Principal:
“As is often the case in Canada, it was easy to score championship points today, however, we didn’t collect them. We lost one car which was in tenth at the end of lap one through an over optimistic move, and the second one through an engine failure.”

James Key, Technical Director:
“All in all it was a really difficult weekend and a shame not to get to the end. Pedro had a collision in the mix of the first corner, which damaged his rear right tyre and front wing, so he had to come straight in. Kamui made an excellent start. He took advantage of the situation in front of him and got up to tenth. But then in the last corner he spun off – that was the end of his race. There was too much damage to the car to continue, which was a real shame because there was potential to score some points. When Pedro went out after his early pit stop his pace was extremely good, and he caught up to the people ahead of him. He then came in for a second stop because of the tyres degrading. We hoped he would make it to the end but then he had an engine problem which we need to diagnose. That was a pointless end to a difficult weekend, so we have to do better in the next race.”

source: Sauber F1 Team

Note from the Editor: There were two titles for this piece, “Schumacher’s Karma catches up with him” or “Have FIA bungled with Schumacher penalty?” Either would have been appropriate, we chose the one we did because in the end it is perhaps more apt…

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix was overshadowed by an incident involving old sparring partners Michael Schumacher, and Fernando Alonso.

Due to the spectacular crash between Karun Chandhok and Jarno Trulli at Rascasse corner, the Safety Car was called upon 3 laps from the end. The flash point came when the German veteran slid up the inside of Alonso at the final Anthony Noghes corner after the Safety Car had peeled into the pitlane for the last time.

The Formula One paddock now finds itself in the situation where Schumacher has been given a retrospective 20 second penalty and dropped to 12th position in the final classification. Fernando Alonso was reinstated to his 6th position, and we head to Turkey with the Spaniard still in touch with the seemingly untouchable Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

However, the justification for this penalisation is hard to distinguish. It is true that Article 40.13 states: “If the race ends while the Safety Car is deployed, it will enter the pitlane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking”. The clarity of this rule is not in question.

There have been previous examples of this rule being enforced. The Australian Grand Prix of 2009 being one such example, where the Brawn cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello led the field across the line after the Safety Car had pitted following an accident between Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica. In this case, the job of the trackside marshals was to signal to the drivers that there was to be no overtaking and that they were to stay in formation. This was signified by the continued use of yellow flags and Safety Car boards at each marshal post until the Start/Finish line.

Fast forward a year and five races, and we find ourselves in a similar situation. What seems incomprehensible is that following the end of the Safety Car period, green flags were waved and a green light was shown on the overhead light gantry of the last corner. Such a contradiction in actions seems confusing to say the least.

Under FIA Sporting Regulations, a green flag signifies “that any previous danger has been attended to. The track is now clear, and drivers may proceed at racing speed and may again overtake”. Why was this signal given? The green flag completely contradicted Article 40.13, and Schumacher acted accordingly.

Based on principle alone, a driver that sees a green flag or a green light is perfectly entitled to proceed at racing speed and make an attempt at an overtaking manoevre. It is worth noting that the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg also attempted an overtake after Alonso slid on the kerbs of the final corner, but was unable to.

Such a baffling decision decreases the credibility of the FIA stewarding panel, which had proved itself to be more than capable with a string of sound decisions so far in 2010. The accusation that Damon Hill was central to the decision-making procedure does not work, as his responsibility was to ensure a fair conclusion to any racing incidents. This was a decision based on the law of the FIA.

Neither is the common misconception that the stewards could have put Schumacher back into 7th position, as under Article 16.3 of the Sporting Regulations, only three possible sanctions are legally allowed; a drive-through penalty, a grid drop for the following race, or a ten-second stop and go penalty.

It appears that Schumacher has been penalised for a communication mix-up, which is why Mercedes have attempted to appeal the decision.
Based on the precedent set by the Lewis Hamilton decision at Spa in 2008, time penalties cannot be appealed. The only conceivable outcome for Mercedes is that they can lodge a protest of the result to the FIA. A 2,000 Euro fee is attached to this and is the only option that resembles an appeal procedure in this instance.

The two underlying themes are that the large reaction to this incident reflects more on the bland nature of the race itself, and that the nonsensical decisions taken by those working in this arm of the FIA are still commonplace. Perhaps if there was no need to interpret so widely the rules that are put forth by the FIA, decisions like this would not cause such debate. With the spectacle provided by the racing being put on the backburner, the spectacle of events off track have reared their ugly head once again.

Those who believe in Karma, your time has come.

(James Rossi)

Rookies Karun Chandhok and Kamui Kobayashi fell afoul the notorious Monaco walls as the Principality came alive on Thursday morning.

Under sunny skies in the Principality, Sauber driver Kobayashi’s was the biggest incident, occurring at the end of the 90-minute session.

The Japanese lost control in the famous Swimming Pool section, hitting the raised kerbs and then the barrier on the exit, but he managed to nurse the C29 back to the pits minus a front wing.

HRT’s Chandhok, meanwhile, earlier managed just 6 laps of the circuit before spinning at Massenet and brushing the outside wall.

Fernando Alonso was the fastest runner, but at one point he pitted to replace a front wing, and was earlier seen almost clouting his left rear against in the final Anthony Noghes corner.

Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica were all within a tenth of the leading Ferrari’s best time, followed by Barcelona winner Mark Webber.

(GMM)

Higher kerbs have been installed at key sections of the Monaco circuit ahead of this week’s formula one race.

Last year, race director Charlie Whiting warned the drivers about cutting the kerbs and installed observers at the Nouvelle and Swimming Pool chicanes.

It is at those corners that new “higher elements have been added behind the existing kerbs” for the 2010 event, the governing body confirmed on Tuesday.

F1 photographer Mark Sutton inspected the new kerbs on Tuesday and remarked on Twitter that the drivers will “not want to touch them!”

Sutton was also disappointed to find new debris fencing at the Rascasse corner, recalling that in previous years “you could just lean over the barrier and shoot as the driver went past at speed”.

The Monaco circuit has also been resurfaced in the pitlane, from Ste Devote all the way up the hill, from Place du Casino to the tunnel entry, and from the tunnel exit to the chicane.

(GMM)

Apr.30 (GMM)  Drivers’ and constructors’ championship leaders McLaren are also winning the race as F1′s most reliable team.

The British outfit, whose Jenson Button leads the drivers’ table by 10 points over Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, completed every single lap with both MP4-25 cars at the initial Bahrain, Australian, Malaysian and Chinese grands prix.

In second place, a 100 per cent record for Ferrari was tarnished only by Fernando Alonso’s engine failure in the closing stages in Malaysia.

Red Bull is third with a 92.4 per cent finishing record in 2010, despite the RB6 appearing to have suffered from several reliability glitches so far.

In fact, Sebastian Vettel’s wheel nut problem in Melbourne was the team’s only DNF, while teammate Mark Webber has completed all four races within the top 9.

Similarly, only one Mercedes car – Michael Schumacher’s in China – has failed to reach the chequered flag, but the German team is fourth in the list with a 89.2 per cent record due the stoppage occurring early in the race.

Williams’ single DNF culminates in a 86 per cent reliability record because Nico Hulkenberg was taken out on the first lap in Australia.

Renault is sixth of the ten teams with 75.1 per cent, for while Robert Kubica has finished every race with the R30, rookie Vitaly Petrov’s first race finish was in China.

In Bahrain the Russian damaged the suspension by hitting a kerb too hard, in Melbourne he spun into the gravel, and in Malaysia he had to stop with a gearbox problem.

Impressively, the new team Lotus also has a 75 per cent finishing record, even though Jarno Trulli was not actually a classified finisher at Sepang because he was ten laps behind.

And in Melbourne, the Italian’s T127 was not even on the grid due to a pre-race hydraulics problem.

Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari has finished all the races, but teammate Sebastien Buemi was taken out on the first lap in both Australia and China — first by Kamui Kobayashi and then Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Force India is now increasingly mentioned as a serious F1 competitor, but its reliability record so far in 2010 is just 65.9 per cent.

Liuzzi crashed in China and had a throttle problem in Malaysia, while Adrian Sutil had a Ferrari engine problem in Melbourne.

HRT’s F1 career started badly with only one car crossing the line in the opening two races.

But the Dallara-built cars of Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok both finished in Malaysia and China, giving the Spanish team a 65.2pc finishing record.

Virgin and Sauber are at the bottom of the pile, with Virgin achieving a mere 33.8pc reliability record with only Lucas di Grassi able to cross the line in Malaysia by aggressively saving fuel.

Sauber is last, with only Pedro de la Rosa recording a race finish in Melbourne for a reliability record of just 25.5 per cent.

“We’ve suffered too many reliability issues on both the chassis side and with our engines,” team founder Peter Sauber said on Thursday.

“That’s very unusual — we’ve always been one of the best teams in this respect over the years.

“We’ve closely analysed all the chassis-related problems and already put measures into effect.  Our engine partner Ferrari is doing the same,” he added.