Bahrain GP - Practice - Force India Quotes

The first practice session was not representative for the Force India team, as they experimented with aerodynamic balance and tried a raft of new parts on the VJM11. Come FP2, they ran similar tyre simulations to their midfield rivals and wound up in the middle of the pack in P13 and P14. Work to do if they wish to crack the top 10 tomorrow.
 
Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:33.662, P18; FP2: 1:31.868, P14
“The first session was very busy with lots of aero work. It’s given us lots of information to help us understand which parts are giving the best performance. We were evaluating the new front wing and will decide tonight if we will continue using it for the rest of the weekend. The evening session went smoothly and we did all the usual things to prepare for the race. Our long run pace is still stronger than our qualifying speed and I think we can come away with some points this weekend.”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:33.794, P19; FP2: 1:31.809, P13
“The team worked really hard today. It’s not easy to change the floor quickly during a session, but the guys did a really quick job and it didn’t cost us too much time on track. All the aero work we did today will give us valuable information for the future. The second session was pretty normal. We did lots of laps and I’m feeling quite happy with the car. We made improvements each time, but we are still missing a little bit of pace to be right at the front of the midfield.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“The hot track conditions this morning are not representative of racing conditions here so we chose to carry out a big testing programme to better understand the updated parts of the VJM11. Both cars ran with different aero configurations and it was an important day of learning. The evening session was focussed on the usual race weekend preparations and we completed the run plan without any significant issues.”

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Bahrain GP - Preview - Force India Quotes

Sergio Perez
“Racing in Bahrain is good fun. It’s unusual because you’re in the desert and we also race under the lights. It’s actually one of my favourite tracks of the year and I’ve always gone well there. It’s where I had my first podium with Force India [in 2014] so I have those memories every time we go back there.

“The Bahrain track often creates good racing. I still remember the battle I had with my old teammate, Jenson Button, in 2013. The layout really allows you to race wheel-to-wheel at times. If you lose a position in turn one, you can fight back through turns two, three and four.

“It was difficult to overtake in Melbourne, but Bahrain should be a bit easier because it’s a more traditional track. We’ve got to be targeting points this weekend. Melbourne showed just how close all the teams are in the middle of the grid, so it’s especially important to have a clean weekend and maximise every session.

“The development race will be very intense this year, but I know we have good things coming. We need to do what we have done in the last few years by making improvements to the car at each race. We’ve already made a step forward since pre-season testing so we need to keep working in the same direction.”

Esteban Ocon
“When I think about Bahrain I always remember the beautiful paddock, which has so much space and looks amazing at night with all the trees lit up. Every year there’s a barbeque for the paddock and it’s nice that all the teams and media can come together before the racing begins.

“I love racing at night. It almost feels quicker under the lights and it looks better on television. Hopefully the fans like it as much as the drivers. The track is good fun and there are a few good overtaking spots, such as turn one and turn four.

“It’s a track that feels very satisfying when your car is working well. I particularly enjoy turns five, six and seven because they are so quick and then you’re immediately into a big braking zone for turn eight. It’s tricky because you approach at really high speed and it’s easy to make a mistake and run wide.

“It’s a tough weekend physically because of the heat. The daytime practice sessions are the most difficult, but fortunately it gets a bit cooler in the evenings for qualifying and the race. You need to drink lots to be hydrated and make sure you don’t lose concentration.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal
“Melbourne was a clear indicator that the competitiveness of the grid has closed up in 2018. We’ve got to work hard to maintain our fourth place in the championship and there’s going to be an intense development race at the front of the midfield. We are certainly up for the challenge and there are further changes to the car in Bahrain. We are a motivated team, with determined drivers and we will be targeting points this weekend.” 

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It’s business as usual in terms of developing the car. We’ve got a new front wing coming for Bahrain, which will complement the upgrades we introduced in Melbourne. The car we have now is totally different from the spec we used during testing and we’re still on a learning curve. There is huge development potential with this new aerodynamic platform and we have things in the pipeline, which will bring performance steps in the first quarter of the season.”

“Testing showed us that the midfield has closed up considerably, so there were no big shocks in Melbourne. I think the points will be spread among the teams more evenly this year and retaining fourth place is going to be a big task. But we’ve only had one race and things can change very quickly in Formula One. The development race is only just beginning and it’s where you end the season that counts. Last year we out-developed the teams around us and we have to do the same this year. Our goal is to defend our fourth place and we will be fighting hard to get back up there.”

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Race day in Melbourne - Force India Quotes

Force India had lacked pace relative to their midfield rivals on Saturday, and come race day they started too far back to make serious inroads. Unable to keep a charging Bottas behind, Perez came close to the points as he hunted down an ailing Sainz, but ran out of laps to pressure the Renault driver ahead.
 
Sergio Perez, 11th
“It was quite an unlucky weekend for us, but there are still positives to take from this race. We came close to bringing home a point although it was just out of reach. I was pushing throughout the whole race and especially chasing Sainz in the final laps. I got really close to him, but it wasn’t enough. Overtaking in Melbourne is very difficult – you could see the same with Bottas who couldn’t pass me during the first stint. The Virtual Safety Car also didn’t help us at all, but that’s just how things go sometimes. I am still happy with my performance and the job we did as a team. We will need to move on and keep improving, but I believe we will soon be in a position to battle for points. Hopefully our improvements will come as early as Bahrain. It’s a race where you can overtake and strategy plays a bigger part compared to Melbourne.”

Esteban Ocon, 12th
“Not an easy race today. It was very difficult to overtake and even though I managed to jump ahead of Lance [Stroll] on the first lap, everybody quickly spread out until the safety car. I had a fight with Bottas for a while and after the safety car restart I was close to making a move on Sergio. We certainly had better race pace compared to our qualifying pace, but we are just missing some performance to be up there in the top ten at the moment. Things can turn around quickly in Formula 1 and we will keep pushing over the next two weeks to bring something extra to Bahrain.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“Ultimately we didn’t have the pace this weekend to fight in the top ten and so we’ve ended our day on the cusp of the points. It’s early days in the season and with twenty races to go there will be plenty of opportunities to develop this car and show our strengths. As I said yesterday, we’re on a learning curve with the developments we introduced this weekend and there’s more in the pipeline for Bahrain. Both drivers drove well today, but the luck didn’t play into our hands with the timing of the safety car, for example. Following other cars closely was tough and Sergiom n was right on the tail of Sainz in the final few laps but there was no way to overtake. We will work hard to be stronger at the next race in Bahrain.”

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Qualifying in Melbourne - Force India Quotes

After finishing last season as 'best of the rest' behind the big three teams, Force India seemed to have gone backwards in qualifying with both drivers falling in Q2. Perez in particular reminded his team that they have plenty of work to do - but given both drivers failed to make Q3 last year, there is still optimism that one bad session isn't necessarily indicative of how the season as a whole will progress...

Sergio Perez, 13th, 1:24.005
“It’s disappointing not to be in Q3, but actually our performance was pretty good. We worked the tyres well and I drove a very strong lap, but I think the end result reflects where we are at this moment. We thought we had a chance to make Q3, but tomorrow is when it really matters. I think some things could play into our hands tomorrow because our race pace looks better than the pace we showed today. There’s an extra DRS zone creating more opportunities and it’s a race where we often see the safety car. There’s a long way to go so let’s see what we can do.”

Esteban Ocon, 15th, 1:24.786
“It was a tough session, especially Q2 where I was really struggling with the front of the car and locking tyres. It was also difficult to find space in the traffic. We had a big job this weekend trying to understand the new upgrade and missing out on some dry running in final practice didn’t help. The race pace will be better tomorrow and I think we can aim for the points. It’s one of those races where just making the finish gives you a chance to pick up a result. Tomorrow is another day and we will keep fighting and see what we can achieve.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“In reality our performance today was not dissimilar to our qualifying result here twelve months ago and it’s not a massive surprise to miss out on the top ten today. We’ve introduced a significant upgrade package and only fitted it to the cars for the first time yesterday so we’re on a steep learning curve at the moment. It’s delivering performance, but we know there’s more potential to come from it in the races ahead. We’ve shown promising long run pace in testing and yesterday so hopefully we can demonstrate that tomorrow and get some points on the board, as we did last year.”

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Force India car almost completely new for Australia

Most teams have brought upgrades to the season-opening race in Australia - but Force India have gone one step further and brought an almost entirely brand-new car…

The Silverstone-based team’s Technical Director Andrew Green says everything apart from the front wing has changed since testing, and the transformation will be complete in Bahrain when that part is due to break cover.

“[The update] touches most areas as far as aerodynamics are concerned,” he said. “Everything from the front wing has changed and that front wing will be next race, which was always the plan.”

With wet weather predicted for Saturday, Green admitted the team will have to wait until the second race in Bahrain to complete set-up work.

“So far, it looks good,” he said. “The drivers are happy, they can feel a big difference from Barcelona. We just need to set the car up differently now, from where we migrated to in Barcelona.

“They can attack the corners harder, which is what we were hoping they were going to say. It’s changed the way the car works, changed the way it works the tyres, so we’re having to go through that loop again to optimise things.

“If it was dry tomorrow, we would carry that on tomorrow morning, but it will probably have to be put on hold while we do some wet running, do the race, and then carry on in Bahrain.”

Name change on hold

Force India had been evaluating changing their name ahead of the new season in a bid to make the team more attractive to sponsors, but Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer admitted that while they decided on a name, they ran out of time to push it through.

“It’s not going to happen this year,” said Szafnauer. “To change chassis name, from what I understand, you can’t do it in the middle of the season so we’ll have to get it done right at the end of the season.

“We went around to find the best name, we had some discussion with partners, sponsors and employees. Then we went to the FIA and FOM and they said 'well, you’re a bit out of time'.

“It’s not every day you change your name. The process wasn’t well defined and still isn’t well defined. Now that we know it, we’ll do it at the end of the season.”

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Australian GP - Friday Practice - Force India Quotes

Force India were working on aerodynamic set-up for much of FP1, and long-run pace in FP2. It remains to be seen whether P12 and P15 are representative times for their drivers, but they will have their work cut out in what is looking a very competitive midfield battle.

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:26.767, P16; FP2: 1:25.413, P12
“We achieved a lot today. There were a lot of new parts on the car and we needed to learn quickly. It’s only Friday and I think we can find more performance before qualifying. That’s always been our strength as a team and we need to work hard tonight understanding the data. I said during testing that all the teams are much closer together and if you look at the times it’s certainly the case. We need to be perfect in qualifying because a small mistake will drop you a long way back. ”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:26.605, P14; FP2: 1:25.888, P15
“For the first day of the season it was actually quite a normal day of practice. We had a lot of things to try on the car, but everything went to plan. It was all about learning and understanding the directions we need to take with the new package. We have already seen a step forward in performance compared to testing, but there’ is obviously some tuning to be done. The afternoon session was a bit frustrating because of the red flag and I always seemed to be stuck in traffic. Tomorrow is what counts, though, so we need to make sure we are ready and do our homework tonight.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“A solid start for us in Melbourne. The main job was fitting all the new aero parts to the car and starting to understand how to get the most from them. We made good progress with that and also worked through the usual tyre evaluation programme. Both sessions went pretty smoothly and we have lots of data to help us make the right decisions tonight. It was a shame that the red flag interrupted both drivers during their performance runs, but fortunately it was only a short disruption. It’s clearly very tight in the midfield and a tenth here and there will make a huge difference in qualifying. It’s hard to know exactly where we stand just yet and I wouldn’t want to make any predictions for qualifying.”

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Australia preview quotes - Force India

Sergio Perez “The race in Melbourne is something I look forward to all winter. It’s a really cool place to start the season. I love the city and it’s probably one of my favourite places to visit.

“You always arrive in Melbourne full of hope. There are lots of unanswered questions and it’s when you really start to understand your competitiveness. At the same time, it’s not a typical race because it’s usually quite unpredictable. Often, just finishing the race is the key to getting a good result.

“I feel in good shape and ready for the season to start. I want this to be my best year in Formula 1 and I want to be back on the podium. During testing we saw that all the midfield teams are quite close together in terms of performance. I also think the gap to the front of the grid is smaller. Let’s see what happens."

Esteban Ocon
“It has been a long winter with a two-month training camp for me in the Pyrenees, but hopefully all the hard work will pay off now the racing is starting. I can honestly say I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel ready to go racing again. Testing is one thing, but now we will get the real answers in terms of our performance.

“Melbourne is a fantastic place. I think everybody in the team enjoys going there. The weather is usually nice and there’s extra excitement because it’s the start of the season. The atmosphere is brilliant all weekend and the fans give you lots of energy. I think it’s a perfect place to start the season.

“I’d like to think we can fight for points in Melbourne. We had a really solid second week of testing in Barcelona. I feel comfortable in the car and it’s very consistent. We have new parts coming for the race so hopefully that’s another performance step.”

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