Malaysian GP - Race - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, 5th
“Today was a super team effort and I’m very happy with fifth place. We were the only team among the frontrunners to do a two-stop race and we had good pace all afternoon. It shows that the team’s hard work over the winter is paying off and it feels great to be so competitive and fighting up at the front. We showed that we could manage the tyres well, although I felt a bit more comfortable on the medium compound tyres than on the hards, but we always had the tyre management under control. So I’m feeling happy that we can take all these positives to Bahrain and leave Malaysia with a good helping of points.”

Sergio Perez, DNS
“I’m disappointed not to have a chance to race today. We are still investigating the cause of the problem but the car kept going into neutral when I was downshifting on the way to the grid. I made it back to the garage but we could not find a solution. I need to focus on the positives because we learned a lot from the weekend so I hope we can come back stronger in Bahrain. It’s been a frustrating weekend for me but at least we are racing again in seven days and can look forward to putting the disappointment behind us.”

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"Nico’s fifth place today is a fantastic result for the team. He didn’t put a wheel out of place and managed the race perfectly to complete a two-stop strategy. In the end we didn’t have the performance left in the hard tyres to hold off Alonso, but it’s encouraging to see us finish 36 seconds ahead of the sixth place McLaren. We knew we would cope well in the hot conditions so it’s very satisfying to pick up ten more points; but it was a day of mixed fortunes with Checo unable to start the race. It’s important we solve the problem before Bahrain because we had the speed to score good points with both cars today. On the whole I’m feeling very positive about our performance this weekend and I’m confident we can deliver a similar showing in Bahrain.”

Source : Formula1.com 
 

Malyasian GP Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (7th, Q3 - 2:01.712)
"It was pretty challenging with the weather conditions today. There was so much rain, standing water and spray. Visibility was an issue and it was hard to see your braking points. It's tricky to drive these engines with lots of torque in these conditions and you need to be really smooth with the throttle out of the slow corners, but I enjoyed the challenge. We're in P7 and in the top 10 on the grid for the second time in a row, which is a result we can be satisfied with. I think we have shown all weekend that we have the speed to be top 10 material whether it’s wet or dry and I hope to score a good helping of points tomorrow."

Sergio Perez (14th, Q2 - 2:01.712)
"The conditions out there were very difficult and they kept changing with every lap, especially during Q2. I had a better feeling on the intermediate tyres and when I changed to the full wets I struggled to keep the temperature in them, which made it hard to put together a good lap. Tomorrow we will need to try and recover from P14, but we have to see what the weather will do. I also need to solve the rear locking which is affecting me under braking in the wet conditions. I’m still confident we can have a good race and I will keep fighting to score as many points as possible."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"Another very wet qualifying session in Sepang presented us with challenging conditions today. Nico looked comfortable in the wet and matched his starting position from Melbourne with seventh place. He has been in the top 10 in all the sessions this weekend and should be in good shape for tomorrow. Sergio struggled more in the wet and didn’t have confidence on the wet tyres. We will try and solve those issues tonight because there’s a good chance of more rain tomorrow. Whether it’s wet or dry I’d like to see both Sahara Force India cars well inside the top 10."

Source : Formula1.com

Malaysian GP - Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Sergio Perez, P1 - no time, 20th; P2 - 1:41.671, 16th
"Not an easy day because I missed most of the morning session and that has limited my running on the hard compound. In the afternoon we tried to improve the car, as well as learning about the tyres, but I still feel we need to make a big step tonight to be ready for qualifying. The tyre performance gap between the hard and the medium compound is not that big, but we suffered with high degradation on both tyres."

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:41.642, 8th; P2 - 1:40.691, 10th
"I think we can be satisfied with what we learned today. We worked through the programme and there were no big issues on my side. Of course, the hot weather here means conditions are tough and we found that tyre management during the long run was quite challenging. It's even more difficult this year because there is more wheelspin with these engines and the rear degradation is quite high. We collected the usual data for the tyres and the set-up, and I think there is still room for improvement. I need some more grip and we need to tweak the balance before final practice."

Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer
"Apart from some lost track time for Sergio this morning, which resulted from a fuel system issue, our preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix has gone largely to plan. We met our mileage target for the tyres and signed off the cooling solutions we have in place for this weekend. The long run performance looks competitive, although coping with the high tyre degradation will be critical come Sunday afternoon."

Source : Formula1.com

Malaysia preview quotes - Force India

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2013 Qualifying - 12th, 2013 Race - 8th
“Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation. It should be a good test of the new cars because it’s much more open than Melbourne with a nice variation of high and low-speed corners, plus two long straights.”

Sergio Perez, Force India
2013 Qualifying - 10th, 2013 Race - 9th
“I think as a team we are moving in the right direction and there were lots of positives to take away from Australia. It was the first race and we, as everyone else on the grid, are still learning a lot about the new car. We have seen some encouraging signs and collected a lot of data that can be put to use for the next few races, starting in Sepang.

“I believe Malaysia can be a very good race for us. Let's see how we can perform there. I think Melbourne was a more difficult one for us and with a hotter track and more rear tyre degradation for everyone we can be stronger. I'm counting the days to Malaysia to recover what we couldn't achieve in Australia. I have good memories of this track and I want to build on my previous results there.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“The weather in Melbourne was relatively cool so I'd like to see what impact the warmer climates of Malaysia and Bahrain will have on performance and competitiveness. Effective cooling will be a priority this weekend. If we can reproduce the performance level we showed in Melbourne that will be a good starting point.”

Source : Formula1.com 
 

Force India: pace behind expectations

Force India believes it has work to do to catch its rival Mercedes-powered Formula 1 teams after it struggled more than expected in the Australian Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg ran fourth in the early stages of the race in Melbourne, but he finished seventh on the road and was promoted to sixth after Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull was disqualified.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley described the performance as "acceptable but not exceptional" and has charged the team with closing the gap to its rivals.

"It was good, but probably not quite as good as we would like it to be," he told AUTOSPORT.

"We didn't quite have the race pace as we would have liked, so we have got a bit of work to do.

"We have just got to focus now on making sure we do a little bit of work on the performance side.

"We have got reliability, which is good, and which is across the board with the Mercedes-powered cars, so we've got to inch ourselves up and make sure we are fighting with McLaren and Williams."

Fernley believes that given the amount of running Force India had during pre-season testing, there are only small gains to be made in terms of the way it is using the engine as the race did not throw up any surprises.
He confirmed that the team will bring some upgrades to the Malaysian Grand Prix and that the team is pushing ahead with its development plan.

"It's marginal now," he said when asked what gains could be made with the operation of the engine.

"With the mileage that we did in pre-season, what happened in the race didn't deviate from what we thought we would do.

"We have a little bit coming [for Malaysia] but we will just go full speed with developments.

"Truth be told, we were expecting the aero war to start in Europe, but now I think it's going to come forward."

Source : Autosport.com 
 

Australian GP - Race - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, 6th
"Seventh place is a positive way to start the season. I was very happy to see the chequered flag - the first time I've done so in Melbourne - and it's important to score some good points early on. I made a strong start and enjoyed good track position for the first two stints when I was running up in fourth. The only real issue I had was some front left graining on the soft tyres, which never really cleared up and that compromised my first two stints. It was a shame to lose two positions at my second stop [to Button and Alonso] but it looks like some of the cars around us have a bit more pace at the moment. I want to thank the team for the amazing job they've done over the winter and this weekend to get us to this point. It's been a great effort and it's nice to reward everyone with some points at the first race."

Sergio Perez, 10th
"I'm satisfied to finish the race, but disappointed not to score points. My race became very difficult on lap one when I got hit by the Sauber of Gutierrez at turn three. It gave me a puncture and I had to return to the pits very slowly, which dropped me to the back of the pack. After that I just tried to keep a consistent pace on the medium tyres and I was quite fortunate that the safety car came out, which helped me recover some positions. Points were close, but my progress was hurt by being stuck behind the Sauber of Adrian for such a long time. It's positive to finish the race because it gives the team lots of information and hopefully that will make us stronger for Malaysia."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"Starting the season with points is what we were aiming to do so we're happy with today's result. Nico drove an excellent race and was able to fight near the front for most of the race, eventually earning us six points. Sergio's race was much more challenging with a puncture on lap one making it difficult for him to show the pace of the car. The safety car allowed him to catch up, but he just missed out on reaching the top ten. Overall we are pleased to see both cars make the finish in this new era of Formula One and we have learned a huge amount. I congratulate everyone in the team for all their hard work over the winter and I look forward to Malaysia in two weeks' time where we will aim to build on what we learned this weekend."

Source : Formula1.com 

Australian GP - Qualifying - Force India Driver Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (7th, Q3 - 1:46.030)
“The first qualifying session of the new season and we finished P7, which is good news! Everything went well today and it was an entertaining session, which I really enjoyed. It was the first time I’ve driven the new car in the wet, but right away I felt comfortable and confident with a nice balance on the intermediates and the wets. There was a good harmony between me and the car, and the team did a great job helping me manage the traffic. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it really is a step into the unknown for everyone. I think we are well prepared and I’m really looking forward to the race where points will be our target.”

Sergio Perez (16th, Q2 - 1:47.293)
“It was not an easy session, especially Q2, and unfortunately we didn’t manage to get a good lap in the wet conditions. It was hard to find clear space with the traffic and I had to pit for new tyres when the track was probably at its best. When I left the pits for my final attempt I locked the rear tyres going into turn three, lost control and could not recover. So it was not the qualifying result we were expecting, but we know tomorrow is another opportunity. We will fight back and try to score some points.”

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“It is very promising to see Nico qualify seventh under these difficult conditions. He always excels in the wet and today he looked very comfortable whatever the weather. Sergio had a more difficult session and unfortunately the weather changed for the worse as he was pitting for new tyres, which made it very difficult for him to improve. I think he will fare better in the race and improve his position because our pace in practice suggests we can be in the fight for points. The weather will surely play a big role, with the chance of more rain showers tomorrow, so we will need to plan for all possible conditions."

Source : Formula1.com