After securing pole position, Pascal Wehrlein was left disappointed with how he and the team managed the race in Sao Paulo.
Both Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa were aggressive at the start of the peloton-style race, but they fell away in the middle stage of the race before the safety cars.
The safety cars stopped the race being a peloton style for the full 34 laps and with the Porsches stuck in third and sixth place, they couldn’t push forward.
Wehrlein thought the team should have secured a podium in Sao Paulo, as the German lost out to Oliver Rowland on the last corner.
“Overall, it was a positive weekend with pole position,” said Wehrlein. “However, I’m not completely satisfied with how the race went.
“We failed to push further forward in the middle of the race. After the safety car phases, it was even more difficult to overtake. That’s when I lost a potential podium finish. More would’ve been possible for us today. But we simply didn’t make the most of our opportunities.”
Antonio Felix Da Costa was also disappointed with how the race was managed in Sao Paulo considering the strong pace the team showed throughout the event.
“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed with the outcome of the race,” stated Da Costa. ” A podium was on the cards for us today.
“In the final phase, we didn’t seem to have everything one hundred per cent together. We can still improve as a team. I came to São Paulo determined to deliver a solid performance. In the race, we matched the pace of the fastest drivers and that’s something we can build on.”
Florian Modlinger, Porsche’s Team Principal admitted that lessons needed to be learnt from the race in Sao Paulo for when the next Peloton-style race occurs.
“All in all, it was a good weekend for us in extreme conditions,” said Modlinger. “Pascal put in a very strong qualifying performance and was rewarded with his second pole of the season.
“Nevertheless, we can’t be completely satisfied because we could’ve done a lot more today. In the opening stages of the race, we quickly had both cars in the top four, but when overtaking became increasingly difficult due to the safety car phases, we unfortunately just weren’t there.
“We’re happy to secure the points. But now, it’s time to start preparing for Tokyo, where we’ll try to do it all better.”
