Force India managed to overtake Toro Rosso in the constructors’ standings after the Monaco Grand Prix after it collected six points at the end of the race with its immediate rival adding only a solitary point to its tally.Both the Silverstone-based outfit’s drivers were involved in separate incidents at Monte Carlo although the team recovered well at the end despite Adrian Sutil picking up a puncture, who collected the points for the team.
“I started the race on the prime tyres and our plan was to do a one-stop strategy,” the German said. “When the first safety car came out I pitted to take the option tyres and I knew I would be on them for a very long time. I tried to make them last, although they dropped off with about 15 laps to go and that’s when I had a big train of cars behind me.
“It was then that I ran wide on the marbles at turn 12, which gave me a right rear puncture. But that’s when the safety car came out and I pitted to change tyres so I didn’t lose too much ground. So I was in eighth when the race restarted and ended the race in seventh.”
Sutil eventually finished ahead of Renault’s Nick Heidfeld however, an “over-eager” teammate Paul di Resta was not so lucky after a drive-through penalty compromised his outing.
“After my first pit stop the team told me that to make the strategy work I needed to pass Alguersuari so I tried to overtake him at the hairpin,” the Scot said. “That’s when I made contact and damaged my front wing, which is why I had to make an early second stop.
“I have to hold my hands up for this accident because I was probably a bit too ambitious,” he admitted. “It’s a shame because the car was working well and without this incident I think I could have scored some points.”
Force India is eleven points adrift of sixth-placed Sauber in the standings and is only ahead of Toro Rosso by a margin of three.
No comments:
Post a Comment