Sorry:Raikkonen to Sutil

knoughtyd

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen has apologised for wrecking the hopes of a fourth place finish for German Adrian Sutil in yesterday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver was in fifth place when he lost control of his car and hit Sutil's Force India car from behind with just a few laps remaining.

The impact caused serious damage to Sutil's car and eliminated him from the race, leaving him in tears. Raikkonen drove back to the pits for repairs to his car and finished ninth.

Raikkonen said: "I said I am sorry for him and his team because probably they are not going to be often in the position to score a fourth position. Plus it was in Monaco.

"So it was harder for him than for me, but it was a racing incident and I could not go anywhere. There wasn't much space and I could not slow down.

"It was just a racing incident. I just locked the rear brakes on the bump and you cannot really slow the car after that. There was nowhere to go, and not enough space to try and avoid him.

"Basically I just think my brakes were a bit too cold and I locked the rear. I nearly lost the car but unfortunately I hit him, and it is sad for them.

"So, I feel sorry for him, but I could not do anything. I tried to slow down but there was nowhere to go and nowhere to slow down, and I lost fifth place."

But the Force India driver Adrian Sutil refused to criticise Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for crashing into him and costing him fourth place in the Monaco Grand Prix.The German was set for a career-best result in Formula One's most prestigious race when he was hit by the world champion with six laps to go.

"It was a great race with an incredibly sad ending," Sutil said.

"It's incredible bad luck that Kimi crashed into me. He obviously didn't do it on purpose."

"It's really a shame as we were really close [to the finish],Then Kimi crashed into my rear and destroyed my whole race."

"It was the best race of my whole career and it is really a shame - I can't say any more about it. I am so really disappointed."

"I knew that in the race we had a chance. I knew from my performance last year that I am really strong here and after the first lap in the race I knew I liked the conditions and I was catching cars.

"I took it easy, just to try not to go off or something then when I got the chance I really pushed. I did fastest laps in the race and it was great. I was really doing good.

"It's just so disappointing that in the last few laps all my work was over."

Talking to reporters from Monaco, Sutil said, "Yes, Kimi did apologise to me. After the race he came to me and said `I`m sorry, I`m really sorry.` he was sorry for sure.

"Anyway, it`s racing and incidents like this do happen. It only shows you how the sport can be," Sutil said, philosophically.

knoughtyd

However, Force India Technical Director Mike Gascoyne bitterly condemned the World Champion's driving...

"Raikkonen always looked like doing stupid and in the end he did," Gascoyne said. "If that was the other way around, and it was a little Force India driver hitting the World Champion, then he would be facing a one or two-race ban.

"We've asked the stewards to take a look and act accordingly."

knoughtyd

Mallya rues shattered dream at Monaco

Vijay Mallya's die-hard optimism finally gave away and the Force India owner could not hide his disappointment after Adrian Sutil's fairytale race in the Monaco Grand Prix came to a heart-breaking end on Sunday.

Sutil was running fourth and with seven minutes to go looked certain to pocket four championship points when Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen rammed into the back of the VJM01 car he was driving, putting paid to his hopes of a dream-come-true finish in the most glamorous of the Formula One race.

With what could be the team's first points of the season slipping through his fingers, Sutil was seen breaking down in tears at the garage.

His Italian teammate Giancarlo Fisichella suffered a gearbox problem and retired from his 200th Grand Prix starts on lap 39.

"It was the saddest moment of my motorsports career," a dejected Mallya later said in a statement.

"To achieve a top 5 position in Formula One and that too in Monaco was a dream that ended just seven minutes and less than five laps from the chequered flag with Kimi Raikonnen's Ferrari running into the rear of Sutil's car," he said.

Mallya said Sutil drove an excellent race and exhibited exemplary car control in wet and slippery conditions to prove conclusively to the world that he is an exceptionally talented driver.

Still it was not all doom and gloom at Monaco for Mallya, who took a positive view of things.

"All members of the Force India Formula One team came together and executed a brilliant race strategy and car set up. We have demonstrated that we are a much improved and competitive team now and we certainly had an opportunity to score championship points today," he said.

"This performance in Monaco has given a huge boost to the confidence of the team and our drivers. Though we are sadly disappointed we will take away many positives and renew our determination to demonstrate further improvement over the rest of the season," Mallya added.

Safin

As i said, if this was in India, Kimi would have a hard time getting out of here

Probably police protection

Btw Ham has come in support too

Lewis sure Sutil will bounce back - F1 | ITV Sport

Lewis Hamilton is confident that his close friend Adrian Sutil will bounce back from the crushing disappointment of being taken out of fourth place in Monaco.

"Adrian's a really good friend of mine," said Lewis, who enjoyed some spirited races with Sutil when they were team-mates in Formula 3.

"He's very well known for having a very strong head on his shoulders, so I'm sure he will bounce back from that."

Hamilton believes that Sutil's strong Monaco run will be the turning point in his difficult year.

"He needs good showings like that," he said.

"I very much support him and hope that he continues the momentum he has now, and tries to improve."

Agnel

Sutil will go for the championship now

Safin

You mean who will finish the last "championship"

Ninja

He can still pull it off if he can manage to win all the races

Nikhil

Honestly, NO sympathy for Kimi from me. For once, I am cursing a Ferrari driver. What a jackass.

Agnel

Originally Posted by Nikhil

Honestly, NO sympathy for Kimi from me. For once, I am cursing a Ferrari driver. What a jackass.

he is also human, this just proves it.

ApeX

Originally Posted by Nikhil

Honestly, NO sympathy for Kimi from me. For once, I am cursing a Ferrari driver. What a jackass.

whats wrong with u? u think he did it on purpose? what good will it do to kimi? he has already lost his 7 points lead and is now trailing by 3 points. its not as if he braked too late or smthing..on the contrary, i think he braked early and found a wet patch..or the brakes simply failed to work. he had nowhere to go, he went straight and hit sutil. if he had tried to go left, he'd have taken out some other car, maybe two.

even if he was trying to overtake, it was okay. you dont expect someone in a ferrari to sit behind a force india car and roam around monaco. i agree that he had a terrible race and its due to a combination of many factors. what happened in the first half of the race may have played a significant role in the crash that took place but nobody can be sure of what actually happened. as agnel said, he's also a human. his expressionless face may make u think otherwise.