Nico Rosberg was left frustrated after an afternoon of much promise turned into a disaster for the Williams driver.
Exiting the pits in second, Rosberg went wide and cut across the white line – immediately giving him a drive-through penalty.
The young German was also hampered by the timing of the safety car period, which forced him to the back of the grid.
Kazuki Nakajima’s long run without a point continued this afternoon, with the Japanese driver just missing out in ninth place.
Kazuki Nakajima – 9th: It was a difficult race and I think I did the best job I could, but it was disappointing not to be able to claim any points. There seemed to be a possibility in the last stint as the car in front of me was struggling with its tyres but as much as focus on the car ahead, I also had to defend from behind, so it was tough to find the balance. The car has been good here and hopefully we can carry this with us to Japan.
Nico Rosberg – 11th: Today’s outcome was hugely disappointing. I made an unnecessary mistake by braking too late and running over the white line on the pitlane exit. Then the safety car came out at the worst possible moment. It left me with a really horrible feeling, also for the team, knowing that I wouldn’t be second when I have served my drive-through penalty and I would have to spend the rest of the race at the back. The team gave me such a good car this weekend having put more effort into development than anyone else, and I am now determined to use this to best advantage in Japan.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: Nico had a really good start and showed strong pace all the way to the first pit stop. He had a good strategy for the remainder of the race which was going to put him solidly into P2, but unfortunately he had a problem at the end of the pitlane which cost him a drive-through penalty. It was a real shame because he had done everything right in practice, qualifying and the race, and then had a small mistake that was very costly. We then called him in early for his second stop to vary the strategy in case of another safety car. Kazuki had an uneventful race, but the car pace here has been good all weekend, our upgrades are delivering and we have some more to add to the car for the races ahead.
