Mallya: This year’s car probably has more downforce

Force India chairman and team principal, Vijay Mallya, looks back on the European season and ahead to Singapore.

The team has now had a run of four good results. Has that been satisfying for you?

Absolutely, that’s what this team needed. We were hoping for double points finishes in these races, but nevertheless one car has scored points. Whether it’s luck I don’t know, but whenever there is a first lap incident Force India is inevitably involved in some way or another! But Paul was eighth at Monza and it is great to leave Europe and go to the flyaway races in sixth position, as we have now overtaken Sauber. That was our objective in Monza and we achieved it.

You wanted the car to be competitive on all types of tracks in 2011 and clearly that is the case now…

The technical direction we all agreed on at the factory was to build a car for all circuits. This year’s car probably has more downforce than ever before, and therefore less straight-line speed. However we went well at Spa and Monza, and now we’re going to tracks that require more downforce, which we have. So we’re looking to continue this good performance for the remainder of the year.

We now travel to Singapore – is it a race you enjoy?

Yes, it’s a great event in an exciting location and I still believe racing at night adds some extra sparkle. Also, we should not forget there is a big Indian community in Singapore so it would be great to continue our strong run of results there.

Finally, the FIA’s Charlie Whiting inspected the Indian Grand Prix venue recently. Are you pleased with progress?

Absolutely, without a doubt. Charlie Whiting’s track inspection report is very flattering. I was exceptionally proud to read his report. He said that everything is done to a very high standard and he has asserted that there is no reason why the track should not be fully ready by the race. As far as the promoters of the track are concerned, they say we can race there tomorrow.

Source:f1pulse.com