India's Narain Karthikeyan, whose race was cut short by an hydraulic problem in the Monaco Grand Prix, expressed hope that his team Jordan would be able to fix the problem before the next meet in Nuerburgring, Germany.
"I was the victim of an hydraulic problem on the Jordan EJ15 and there was nothing much I could do. I really hope that the team will have time to fix the problem for the Nuerburgring race next week as we are flying there directly from this race," Karthikeyan said on Sunday, after he was forced to retire on lap 23.
The next race will be held next Sunday and the team has very little time to work on the vehicle.
| |||||||||||
Having changed his engine, the Indian driver started the glamorous street race in the Monaco Principality from the back of the track between Juan Pablo Montoya of McLaren and Ralf Schumacher of Toyota.
"I made a decent start. But on lap 23 after I had a contact with the barrier, the hydraulic system of my car got damaged.
Karthikeyan also admitted that it was not a "trouble free race for his EJ15 car and he had to make three pit stops in quick succession.
"It was not a trouble-free race for my EJ15. Ten laps after the start, my troubles started and I felt the first problems on the car. I stopped in the stands for a first check. The problem persisted and I came in again the following lap after for an additional check. I saw Alonso lap me on lap 15. Later on, I made my third stop to check the car and the car even stalled when I restarted to rejoin the race.
"On lap 23, after missing apex of turn 10, I touched the barrier. The hydraulic system which is fragile got damaged on the car and this ruined my dream to finish the Monaco Grand Prix. I knew from this point on I would be losing power. I decided to bring the car back to the pits again and we decided with team Jordan Grand Prix to abandon the race."
The Indian said he is atleast happy that one of the car made it to the finish as his teammate Tiago Monteiro finished 13th.
"At least I am glad for the team that Tiago Monteiro was able to make it to the finish of the race."
More from rediff