Alexander Rossi concluded his maiden F1 race in a strong 14th position and ahead of Manor team-mate Will Stevens, despite not having any radio contact for the entire second half of the Singapore Grand Prix.
The US GP2 Series title contender had received a last-minute call up to replace Roberto Merhi at Marina Bay Circuit, but was off to an inauspicious start when he crashed into the wall in FP1.
Having qualified half a second off his team-mate, Rossi quickly moved past the other Manor when Stevens outbraked himself at Turn 7 early in the race. From then on, the F1 debutant managed to stay out of trouble in an action-packed contest to record his first career finish.
“It was a good result for the team,” said Rossi. “Our main objective was obviously bringing the car home in one piece and we got a decent position at the same time so everyone can be quite happy.
“This is the hardest track to debut on and we got through it relatively unscathed. I'm just pleased the team managed to bounce back from what was a difficult Friday.”
Rossi’s performance was all the more impressive, considering that the 23-year-old lost radio signal halfway through the grand prix.
“This made my life difficult. But fortunately we were able to relay a lot of information via the pit board, which resolved any potential issues and we were able to manage it quite well.”
Rossi’s radio problem became apparent during the second Safety Car period, when the Californian-born racer did not unlap himself as mandated, but stayed instead in the path of front runners Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen (see picture).
“I didn't find it that weird, what was happening. Apparently everyone else did so I'll have to look into that and understand what the exact regulation is because I thought the green light would go on for the safety car.
“But at the end I think we were able to manage letting the leaders by quite well, so at the end of the day it worked out just fine.”
REPORT: Vettel takes third win as Hamilton retires in Singapore
AS IT HAPPENED: 2015 Singapore Grand Prix
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