Yvan Muller admitted that his start was simply ‘not good enough’ after he lost the victory in the second FIA World Touring Car Cup race at Pau-Arnos early on and took the chequered flag in second.
Earlier in the day, Muller had been forced to retire from the opening race after picking up damage in the drama at the start, when Tiago Monteiro was sent spearing into the barriers after contact with Cyan Racing’s Yann Ehrlacher.
Muller picked up a broken axle and had to pit for repairs, with the Frenchman taking to the circuit towards the end of the race to test if his mechanics had solved the issue.
Assuming pole position for the second race, Muller was beaten into the first corner by Hyundai’s Jean-Karl Vernay and thereafter settled into second, finding it difficult early on to re-pass his compatriot.
Despite missing out on the win, Muller was satisfied with a third podium finish of the season, which keeps him in the mix in fifth place in the drivers’ standings, 34 points adrift of leader, team-mate and nephew Ehrlacher.
“I think everything was over after Turn 1,” said Muller. “My start was not good enough. Unfortunately, we know we have a weak point on that and we have to work on that for the future.
“JK [Vernay] was already in front of me at Turn 1, so that was over. I tried for two laps and then I said OK, take your gap, keep the fresh air and drive like this.
“But of course, I’m disappointed because I lost the victory, especially after a nice pole yesterday. But on the same point if you look at where I was after race one, I can be pleased to be on the podium.
“Well done to my boys because they did a super job [in repairing the car in race one]. Without them we couldn’t be on the grid in race two.
“I didn’t see the result of the championship at the moment, but for the manufacturers’ which is the main target for Lynk & Co it looks pretty good and that is the main thing.”