Russian Formula One driver Vitaly Petrov said he is pleased with his 17th-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix and feels he drove the car to its full potential Sunday.
Petrov finished a lap down, one place behind his Caterham teammate Heikki Kovalainen, as Williams driver Pastor Maldonado claimed his maiden victory.
“I'm pleased with how I drove this afternoon and, like Heikki, I don't think we could have got much more performance from the car today,” Petrov said on the Caterham website.
A less-than-perfect setup for his power boosting KERS system may explain why he finished behind Kovalainen, Petrov suggested.
“Yesterday we found a good KERS map for qualifying but this afternoon it wasn't working as well in the first and second stints, and I think that's where we lost some time to Heikki,” he said.
Williams’ celebrations of their first win since 2004 were marred when a fire broke out in their garage after the race, reportedly when a KERS device exploded.
Four Williams mechanics were injured, with one of them reportedly taken to hospital and the rest treated at the track.
Caterham said in a statement that four of their personnel were also hurt, one with a minor hand injury and three with smoke inhalation.
One Force India mechanic also suffered from smoke inhalation, and the team released a statement on Twitter saying that he had helped to fight the fire and was now being treated at the on-track medical center.
