European Grand Prix Race Review
June 25, 2012
A sensational European Grand Prix at Valencia saw Michael Schumacher take third place, claiming his first podium finish since 2006, while teammate Nico Rosberg finished in sixth.
An unpredictable race from beginning to end, Schumacher fought through the field from P12, making two pit stops on laps 19 and 41 – a strategy that proved crucial later on, when other drivers were battling with fading tyres.
Finishing a fraction of a second behind Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen, Schumacher was delighted with his result saying: “I feel extra happy. I think that was the best answer to give to everybody who started doubting our work: get the car together and fight back; never give up, as anything can happen.”
Team Principal Ross Brawn congratulated Schumacher on a fantastic and well-deserved podium finish saying: “Michael demonstrated today that if we can give him the opportunities, he will get a great result.” He added: “I am very proud of both of our drivers, everyone here inValencia, and back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth today.”
Rosberg meanwhile lost five places during the first lap, but managed to climb back to sixth, giving the team a strong points scoring finish. Rosberg has scored 75 points in six races since his win in China, the second highest total after Fernando Alonso (76).
After the race he said: “We had planned to try a one-stop strategy but had to convert to two stops, and thanks to the strategy guys, we were on fresh tyres when everybody else was struggling. I was in P12 on lap 47 and P6 at the end, so it clearly worked and we are very happy with a good team result after such a chaotic race, with two cars in the top six.”
Stay tuned for the ninth round of the season, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 6–8 July. We’ll be screening the race live at Mercedes-Benz World, so if you’re not heading to the circuit, join us at Brooklands for the next best thing!
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