Sam Michael gives a debrief of the Italian Grand Prix weekend which saw the team secure another double points finish with a seventh place finish from Nico Hulkenberg backed up by tenth place from Rubens Barrichello.

Sam Michael, Technical Director Q&A

Q: How satisfying was it to get two cars into the points at the Italian Grand Prix?
SM: It was a good result, one which shows that we are making solid progress with the whole car package. The FW32 was competitive among the top runners, as demonstrated by Nico's fastest lap time, which was just 0.4seconds off the quickest.

Q: Both cars had new engines. How much did this help performance along Monza's long
straights?
SM: Nico had a new engine, but Rubens had the same one as he used in Spa. It is obviously a significant benefit to have a new engine, and particularly when we’re racing at these power-hungry circuits.

Q: Nico Hulkenberg qualified eighth and finished seventh. Was this his best overall
performance of the year?
SM: Well, Nico finished sixth in Budapest, but he was consistently strong throughout the whole weekend in Monza. I would say then that, yes, his overall performance was his best to date.

Q: Mark Webber said after the race that Nico should have received a penalty for straight-lining the chicanes during their battle for sixth place. What conversations were had with the FIA's race director Charlie Whiting about this?
SM: Nico didn't gain any advantage on the occasions when he went through the chicanes. Buemi did exactly the same while running ahead of Rubens but, because he didn't gain an advantage, he wasn't penalised either.

Q: Of the team’s two drivers, Rubens Barrichello had the more difficult weekend. Did he have any specific handling problems?
SM: Rubens’ car was handling similarly to Nico's. Although he didn’t have the same pace as Nico over the weekend, he still scored an important point for the team.

Q: Next we go to Singapore. How do you expect the FW32 to perform there?
SM: We have a large upgrade for the FW32 for Singapore. It will be the last upgrade package we will bring to the car this season and we expect it to be competitive.

Championship Tables After 12 of 19 Races

Drivers
1 M Webber 	187
2 L Hamilton 	182
3 F Alonso 	166
4 J Button 		165
5 S Vettel 		163
6 F Massa 	124
7 N Rosberg 	112
8 R Kubica 	108
11 R Barrichello 	31
14 N Hulkenberg 	16

Constructors
1 Red Bull Racing 	350
2 McLaren 	347
3 Ferrari 		290
4 Mercedes GP 	158
5 Renault 		127
6 Force India 	58
7 AT&T Williams 	47
8 BMW Sauber 	27
9 Toro Rosso 	10
10 Lotus Racing 	0