A race that had protagonists dreaming of a promising finish, ended with a desire to turn the page as quickly as possible and instead look ahead to tomorrow's race.
Felipe Fraga: “We started the day very well, with a good qualifying session, despite it being the first of the season. We could maybe have improved on the fourth place, but I was happy to start in the top five anyway. In the race we were doing well, always in the top five with great times and the car running well. When the race restarted after the Safety Car I got rear-ended without being able to do anything to avoid it. It's a shame because we lost some important points, but unfortunately sometimes races go that way, we just have to accept it. We are now concentrating on tomorrow's race. We can still turn it into a good day.”
Sébastien Loeb: “In the end it wasn't a bad day considering where we started from. My time was just seven tenths-of-a-second slower than the pole, but the tiny gaps meant that I started twenty-first. At the start, things went well, I followed the car in front of me and defended my position. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the entrance of the Safety Car which took place immediately after our pit stop for the tyre change. The restart was very good, I was able to climb some positions and finish the race in sixteenth position. The race was really nice and I enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to Race 2."