Di Resta will have the advantage in Australia - Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg expects Force India team-mate Paul di Resta to have the upper-hand at the first race of the season as he reacquaints himself with life as a race driver.

Hulkenberg made his debut with Williams in 2010 but had to settle for a reserve driver role at Force India last year and missed out on a season's racing. He has been promoted to the position of race driver this year, but admits it will take at least one race to get back up to speed.

Asked by the official Formula One website if di Resta will have an advantage, he said: "Yes, especially during the first races I guess. He's used to the procedure of a race weekend, DRS, KERS etc. and I will have to find my rhythm again first. But this disadvantage will probably be gone after a few races."

Hulkenberg has enjoyed three days of pre-season testing so far this year and has two more to come this week in Barcelona, but he said there is no substitute for racing.

"Driving in a test is very different to a race weekend. I think the 14 free practice sessions I drove in during 2011 kept me in the loop pretty well. But as I said, if there´s a deficit, then I will feel it more during qualifying or a race. During last week´s test I had two good days with lots of running, which was important to build a good feeling for the car."

In his rookie year he took a surprise pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but he said he could only dream of similar results this year.

"I think that we have a realistic chance of finishing fifth in the constructors' championship," Hulkenberg added. "It will definitely not be easy, but I'm sure it's possible. Now for the hopes - I hope for some rainy days and some messy races that will allow smaller teams like us to enjoy some surprising results. And finally, the dreams - it would have to be many more moments like Brazil 2010!"

Source: en.espnf1.com

Force India 'must define' ambitions

Force India's owners must decide within the next few months if they are happy for the outfit to keep fighting in Formula 1's midfield pack, or if they want to dig deep into their pockets to help fund a push to the front of the grid.  

That is the view of the Silverstone-based outfit's deputy team principal Bob Fernley, who says that Force India's shareholders must soon make a call on their long-term ambitions.

"I think we have got to have a fundamental rethink," Fernley told AUTOSPORT on the back of an encouraging winter testing programme so far.

"The reconstruction plan was put in place by the beginning of 2009. We are now into the third year of that, and pretty well have delivered what we wanted to deliver on that.

"The question for the shareholders I think really is: do you want to stay the best of the rest, or do you want to make a move to become a podium contender? 

"They have got to make that decision, because financially it has a huge impact. We will be preparing that process for them over the coming months, and they will give us the direction."

Fernley feels that even without a ramping up of investment this year, Force India can fulfil its ambitions of fighting in the top five this year.

"Hopefully we can gain a position this year, which would be wonderful," he said. "As long as we don't lose anything, and can still be in the mix for the next year or two, we will have achieved the goals for our current status, and then hopefully we can back it up with the next programme."

Fernley is pleased with how winter testing has gone, but says the outfit is still unsure just where it stands in the rankings.

"A lot is going to depend when we get the pecking order in Melbourne, and we know what we are really fighting against from a performance point of view," he explained. "Then we will know how hard it is to achieve it. 

"At the moment it looks like we are in the mix for where we want to be - with the same people chasing us, and we chasing them – are as expected."

Fernley also suspects that the bigger teams may well move ahead of the chasing pack after the final test, thanks to larger upgrades planned for their cars for the first race of the season.

"I am sure everyone will start running the Australia package towards the end of next week, and we will be no different," he said. "But it is not massive. From our point of view it will be relatively small – I think you will see the big changes on the front running teams."


Source: Autosport.com

Force India pleased with 'faultless' car Force India pleased with 'faultless' car

Force India chief engineer Jakob Andreasen described the VJM05 as running "faultlessly" as the team completed 112 laps on day two at Barcelona.

Hulkenberg set the fastest time of the day during the morning session before focusing on analysing all four dry tyre compounds in the afternoon. Having clocked up a total of 209 laps over the two days, Andreasen paid tribute to Force India's design team and said that the team at the circuit had managed to complete everything it had set out to.

"Nico's second day in the car saw a continuation of the programme we started yesterday with aero runs, balance and set-up work, and a full day of tyre comparisons," Andreasen said. "We got through all the items on the job list and once again the car has run faultlessly, which is a credit to the design team at Silverstone. Nico's feedback on the handling of the car continues to be positive and we now have a good feel for the set-up directions we need to take to extract even more performance."

After his final day in the car for this week Hulkenberg said he was pleased with the baseline set-up the team had.

"We started the day with some aero work - trying some constant speed runs and collecting more data. Then, the rest of the day was spent working on the balance of the car and trying out all four tyre compounds. I did some short runs, long runs and just got a feel for the tyre characteristics and how the car reacts to them. Once again the car has been very drivable all day and our baseline set-up has proved to be a good starting point for running all the different compounds."

Source : en.espnf1.com

Force India says F1 costs still too high

Formula 1 must do much more to bring down costs in the future, says Force India's deputy team principal Robert Fernley, if the sport is to remain sustainable.

Although much focus from teams this year will be in trying to secure a greater share of revenues from F1's Commercial Rights Holders in a new Concorde Agreement, Fernley thinks that the bigger issue is actually the expenditure of competing.

"From a personal point of view, I think the cost base of F1 is still wrong," Fernley told AUTOSPORT. "You need to bring it down.

"I believe very strongly that when you cannot make profit based on your television income and your sponsorship income, then there is something wrong with the sport, and I still believe that is the case today. Our costs are too high."

F1 teams currently share between them 50 percent of the commercial rights income - and are seeking to increase that to up to 70 percent under the new Concorde Agreement.

Should they be even that successful, which is unlikely, Fernley does not think it will ease the financial burden that many teams on the grid are facing at the moment.

"Even if you increased the income from the CRH it would still leave a deficit, and you would still need support," he said.

"I would say today the average team is spending between 80 and 100 million dollars as a small team – and the FOM income will nowhere near cover that. So you have to have the commercial income top up and then make a profit."

Last year, AUTOSPORT estimated that world champions Red Bull Racing earned $93.1 million from commercial rights income for its title success – which is almost less than it spent in capturing both titles.

Fernley said he hoped discussions about a new Concorde Agreement would start in the next few weeks, and that the process would be smoother than last time – when teams briefly agreed to a breakaway series for 2010.

"If we can collectively sit down with [F1 owners] CVC and Bernie [Ecclestone], that is always going to be win/win," he said. "It should be a programme that benefits all."

Source: Autosport.com

Hulkenberg jumps to top of the times at Barcelona

Nico Hulkenberg topped the timesheets ahead of lunch on the second day of testing at Barcelona with a new fastest lap time of 1:22.608.

The Force India was closely matched by Sergio Perez's Sauber as both drivers put in impressive lap times that would have secured eighth and ninth on the grid at last year's Spanish Grand Prix. Comparisons are fairly meaningless due to different track conditions and tyres, but the efforts of both drivers are an early signal that there will be a competitive midfield this year.

Sebastian Vettel was third fastest after leading the way for much of the morning with a lap time of 1:23.056. He then stayed in the garage for the best part of two hours before returning to the track on soft tyres just before lunch to set a 1:22.891. However, the downtime meant he completed just 31 laps during the four-hour long morning session.

Daniel Ricciardo set the fourth fastest time after a stuttering start to the morning when a problem forced him to stop on track and brought out a red flag. The team soon got him back on track and he racked up 44 laps before lunch, completing some pit stop practise along the way

Fernando Alonso was fifth fastest after an industrious morning in the Ferrari in which he completed over 50 laps. The team was comparing on various exhaust solutions, meaning long periods in the garage followed by data-gathering runs on track.

Lewis Hamilton's best lap was a 1:24.040, which placed him sixth at lunch time, 1.432s off Hulkenberg's best. He completed 45 laps over the morning but did not appear to be hunting lap times.

Nico Rosberg was the busiest man of all with 75 laps as he pounded round on longer runs during his first full day of testing in the new Mercedes W03. It was an impressive show of reliability on the car's second day of group testing and important after the team ran last year's car at the first test in Jerez.

Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas was eighth fastest as he got his first morning of testing in the new FW34. The Finn continued the team's work in a similar vein to Senna the day before, with a time a tenth slower and a decent amount of mileage.

Vitaly Petrov got his first taste of the Caterham CT01 and appeared to be a little out of sorts for most of the morning. An hour before lunch chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne tweeted: "Spent time getting the seat, steering wheel and brakes right for Vitaly but now much better and out for first proper run." His best time at lunch was a 1:26.605 after 36 laps.

Charles Pic again rounded off the times with a 1:28.092 in last year's Marussia.

Times

	Driver	Car	Time	Laps
1.	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India VJM05	1:22.608	63
2.	Sergio Perez	Sauber C31	1:22.648	51
3.	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull RB8	1:22.891	31
4.	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso STR07	1:23.639	45
5.	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari F2012	1:23.640	52
6.	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren MP4-27	1:24.040	45
7.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes W03	1:24.555	75
8.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams FW34	1:25.858	69
9.	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham CT01	1:26.605	36
10.	Charles Pic	Marussia MVR02	1:28.092	47

Source : en.espnf1.com

Hulkenberg surprised by car balance

Nico Hulkenberg has been pleasantly surprised how well-balanced his new Force India has felt around the Barcelona circuit, after an encouraging first day's running this week.

The German, who was having only his second full day in the car, was second fastest behind Sebastian Vettel on the timesheets after completing 97 laps on the first day of this week's Barcelona test.

"We had a good day, it was a positive programme," he said. "We started with some aero gathering this morning, some tyre comparisons with different 

compounds, and then long runs this afternoon.

"Generally there were no reliability issues, so there was a very positive impression of the car and a good feeling today."

With Barcelona demanding good aerodynamic performance from the car, Hulkenberg said he was encouraged by how good his car felt around the Spanish GP venue.

"It was pretty good, surprisingly well," he explained. "Maybe it suits a little bit better here than Jerez. I am also getting better. It is my second day, as Jerez was my first day after a long time out of the car. Each day, each kilometre is better."

He added: "Reliability wise, the whole picture just looks very good right now. We are bedding in right now. Today, after lunch, I got back in and felt comfortable again. It feels a bit more like home - I am going through the sensation of that feeling. So, so far so good."

Source: autosport.com

Q&A with Force India’s Paul di Resta

Force India were one of the surprises of last season and their sixth place in the 2011 standings has given them an appetite for more. Can their revised driver line-up of Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg - both with only a season of F1 competition behind them - satisfy the cravings? Di Resta certainly thinks so and the first impressions of Force India’s new VJM05 appear to back him up. The Scot speaks exclusively to Formula1.com...

Q: Paul, at the end of last season Force India had a real boost. Do you get the feeling that the team has been able to carry that momentum into the 2012 season?
Paul di Resta: I certainly hope so. The buzz in the team from what we’ve achieved last year is still high and I think that is reflected in the car design of the VJM05. So far we must be very happy with what we have achieved, but of course this is not a sport that stands still. We have to keep moving and hopefully this moving will bring us to where our ambitions are: to move forward in the constructors’ championship. To do that we have to overtake a world championship-winning team - and that indeed is a big task. But believe me, we all will give it our best shot. 

Q: It is logical that after finishing sixth last season your team boss Vijay Mallya is now focusing on P5. But who’s going to move over?
PdR: That’s the tricky question, indeed. It is a hard task, but I think we’ve come so far that with all the talents the team has shown last season we have to focus on that. We punched a bit above our weight in 2011, so we know how to do it - and let’s get even better at doing it this year! (laughs) There is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do it again.

Q: You have done two full days in the new car this week - and witnessed the other cars on track. From what you’ve seen, do you think you could indeed punch above your weight again in 2012?
PdR: I think what first and foremost should give us hope is the stability that we have within the team in terms of our design department, our engine partner and our partnership with McLaren. This is more important than what other teams might or might not have done in the last few days. We changed our philosophy in aerodynamics last year - and how we work as a team - and you saw the benefits in the middle of last year. The VJM05 is not just an evolution of last year’s car - there are some pretty big new parts there based on our new philosophy and we are very confident that it will deliver. 

Q: So the only change is that you have a new team mate in Nico Hulkenberg - which means that Force India are going into the season with two drivers in only their second year of F1 competition. Will that work?
PdR: Yes, why not? I think this looks like a very exciting driver line-up. Nico gained high respect when he was driving for Williams and the (Force India) board took the decision to trust us not to disappoint them. And in fact we work very closely together. 

Q: Adrian Sutil had been with the team - and in Formula One for five years - so he was the old hand. Now with two drivers only just out of their rookie seasons the competition will be different, as you both have to earn your spurs…
PdR: There is always competition between team mates, but that is what pushes you on and pushes the team to reach new goals. And maybe that is what was needed. Adrian had been with the team for five years, so maybe they wanted something different. Well, that’s not for me to say as I was purely focusing on securing my drive - and I’ve done that and now will do my utmost to make sure I drive to my best potential. 

Q: To have a realistic shot at P5 in the constructors’ championship both drivers have to deliver. You’ve seen Nico drive on some Fridays and you have seen him in the factory going about things, so is he a man who can deliver?
PdR: Yes, of course.

Q: So let’s speak about the potential of the car. You clocked the second-best time on day one, so does this indicate that the VJM05 is made of the right stuff?
PdR: Ah, you never know what the others did and being here it’s all about gathering data, which we’ve done. [The next test in] Barcelona will give us a bit of an idea of where we are. I just can say that I am very confident with the procedures we’ve gone through at the moment.

Q: Team tester Jules Bianchi spun the car on Thursday morning with some damage. What does that mean for your test programme?
PdR: Unfortunately it happened, but that’s racing. Sure, we’ve missed a bit of running, but as the car has done a lot of laps over the last two days we should have enough data to work on.

Q: You said the VJM05 is not just an evolution but pretty much a new machine. Can you tell us the most significant differences?
PdR: Well, the front nose is different, the exhausts are pointing in a different direction, the colour code is different and it has black tyres… (laughs) That’s all I can tell you - the other things are hush hush, top secret! (laughs)

Q: There are three test sessions planned before Melbourne. Can you talk us through each and every test - and what your programme will be?
PdR: Jerez is mainly for gathering data for correlation from the wind tunnel to the design department to enable updates to come through in the right way. Barcelona test one will be about balance mainly and the last test in Barcelona before everything is shipped ‘down under’ will be about driver and team preparation - having the whole team there and running race simulations and hopefully by then understanding the car fully ahead of the first Grand Prix. 

Q: Given where you are now, where do you want to be at the end of the season? 
PdR: At the top! 

Q: If everybody’s wish comes true it will be pretty crowded up there… 
PdR: Well, you have to go into a season thinking that. If you start to settle for less your ambitions are probably not big enough. You cannot settle for second all the time. You need to be positive - create positive energy and prepare yourself to be able to achieve it. 

Q: So now we know your dream, what do you think the reality of 2012 will be?
PdR: Well, you have seen that some people here have achieved tremendous things over the winter and I have a very open mind for this year.


Source: F1.com

Di Resta upbeat by Force India progress

Force India driver Paul di Resta believes he has a strong platform with which to start his sophomore season after a strong first day's testing at Jerez on Tuesday.

The Scot ended the day second fastest, a tenth slower than pace-setter Kimi Raikkonen, and said afterwards that while his time was irrelevant from a competitive point of view, the starting baseline for the VJM05 was much better than its predecessor.

"If we look at where we were this time last year and where we are now it's a massive step up the road, it's almost three seconds already, but then the end of last year was very good for us," he said, when asked about his performance by AUTOSPORT.

"All I can say is that has been a very productive day and we can be happy with what we have done.

"We got through all the test programme and we did a bit more actually," he added. "We had a good approach about what we had to do.

"We had some aero stuff this morning that led on to some runs and then we did some long runs in the afternoon and it was all fairly good. I think we can be relatively quite happy about the work we've done over the winter and what the guys have achieved."

Di Resta said that he had been pleased with the initial balance of the car so early in its development, adding that his confidence had been boosted by the consistency of the data between the windtunnel and the track.

"Obviously all the fancy engine modes have gone and the exhausts and essentially you've lost a ton of downforce there," he said.

"But the car is well balanced and where we put it on track is where we ended up, which gives you encouragement about what's going on in the background with simulations and stuff, and that it is working right because that's where we have migrated to."

The Scot added that he felt even better prepared coming into his second season of F1 and that the team seemed to be starting the year from a higher level as well.

"The whole thing seems a lot better, but you know we've achieved 101 laps on the first day out, so the mileage and the reliability was good which is always a positive," he said. "Now all this test is about is gathering information. It's not about performance.

"You know somebody said to me earlier: 'Who was fastest at this test last year?' and I didn't know, and they replied: 'Barrichello'. I couldn't tell you who was fastest at Barcelona last year but I can tell you who was fastest at the first race, and that's all this test is fundamentally about - us correlating what is happening back at the factory to make sure the next upgrade that we bring, hopefully before Melbourne, works.

"So you just need to make sure that the car is saying the same thing that the tunnel is saying. And, on the track it feels relatively balanced and I'm very happy with it. It's a good starting point to work away with."

source: autosport.com

Sahara Forceindia VJM05 Launch Video

Source: Youtube.com

Force India 'ahead of the game' - Fernley

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley says that the team has to be "ahead of the game" when it comes to selecting drivers.

The team promoted Friday driver Paul di Resta to a race seat last season, and have done the same to partner him with Nico Hulkenberg this year. Speaking exclusively to ESPNF1 Fernley said that the team has to make sure it doesn't lose its driver pairing prematurely, but admitted that at some stage he expected them to move on to bigger teams.

"The first thing is that we've got to have strong contracts," Fernley said when asked how it would keep hold of di Resta if Mercedes came calling. "But you have to be realistic as a team, especially as Force India, and if Paul or Nico came to us at the end of 2012 or 2013 and said 'I've been offered a drive at Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren', how are you going to get in their way? You're going to have to release them.

"Obviously there would be financial discussions in that, but the whole point of Force India is to identify young drivers as they come through. We won't be able to afford Paul or Nico in years to come so we've got to be ahead of the game, and that's what we've done."

Fernley said that his belief the drivers would move on was due to the fact that he thought both could be world champions in the future.

"I believe that they are potentially both championship material - I am really excited about them both. Even the top four teams, pretty much across the board in those, you've got drivers that are coming towards the end of their career. Obviously they have great experience and stabilise the team, but we've got two youngsters that are charging forwards."

Source:en.espnf1.com

Technical Q&A - Force India’s Andrew Green on the VJM05

They finished sixth in the 2011 standings and for 2012 Force India’s target is fifth. The car they are hoping will take them there is the new VJM05. Following its launch and track debut at Silverstone on Friday, the man who has led its design, technical director Andrew Green, discusses its development and its prospects for the coming season…

Q: Last winter there was a major change of philosophy and it paid off with a stronger second half of the season. What’s has been the plan with the VJM05?
Andrew Green: The approach is to use that foundation and carry on building on it. We have a lot more confidence in the aerodynamics we put on the car now, compared to previous years. I think that showed from the time we changed the car in Barcelona and for the rest of the season. We were putting updates on at almost every race and the performance was improving. We’re happy with the strategy we’ve got and we’re pushing the boundaries even further. So we’re going to use what we learned last year as the foundation. There’s been a bit of clawing back to do with the exhaust regulations and that’s been the main focus of attention over the winter.

Q: How would you sum up the new car?
AG: I would say that the car looks a lot more refined than previous cars produced here. It does look a lot racier and a lot more purposeful. You can start to see the aerodynamic concepts coming through now. It looks quite a bit different to the previous years, which is good. And so far the performance in the tunnel has been extremely encouraging. It’s just that unknown of where everyone else is - and we won’t know that until Melbourne.

Q: What impact have rule changes had?
AG: The nose height regulation has led to the biggest visual change in the car, and then there’s the exhaust regulation. The rest of it is very subtle.

Q: Some teams spent more time than others pursuing the blown diffuser route. Will that make it easier for you to take a step back from it?
AG: Our time was limited, as far as the blowing of the diffuser was concerned. We couldn’t get it to work at the end of 2010 and that’s when we had a big rethink last winter. So we only had a limited time to tune it and I know we never extracted the full potential. For the teams who were working on it a lot longer than us, it could be an even bigger hit.

Q: What can you tell us about the latest McLaren gearbox?
AG: It’s smaller and lighter. It’s a really neat and tidy package again, as we would expect from McLaren.

Q: The Mercedes KERS was new to the team last year. Are you happy with how it worked out?
AG: It was as close to a seamless integration as you could want. It’s a fantastic system, and we’re very happy with it. There are little detail changes, but essentially it’s the same package.

Q: Last season the car was competitive on all types of circuits, whereas in the past Sahara Force India was usually stronger at the faster, low-drag venues. Will we see the same thing this year?
AG: That philosophy still holds true. I think maybe we swung a little bit too far in the other direction last year. We’re aware that we weren’t that competitive at Monza, so we’ll make sure we’ll address that for 2012. 

Q: Obviously last year the team had to learn a lot about the Pirelli tyres. Has that fed back into this car?
AG: We learned a huge amount about the tyres and everything we’ve learned has been incorporated into the design of the VJM05. We’ve given ourselves some manoeuvrability on suspension design and characteristics which will help us at different tracks that demand different things from the tyres. So we’re looking to exploit that.

Q: In other words last year there were things that you wanted to adjust, but you were not able to?
AG: Exactly, we had designed ourselves into a corner in a few areas. We recognised early on that we wanted to manoeuvre out of them, but we couldn’t! All those things were addressed with the 2012 car.

Q: This time last year there was a lot of talk about the DRS. Any changes for this year?
AG: There was a huge amount of rear wing development early in the season, although it tailed off towards the end. It shouldn’t be the big focus that it was in 2011. We’re carrying on the development from last year - it’s a reasonably competitive package. We will look to update it early on in the season, but to be honest it will only be marginal changes. 

Q: In general terms with relatively stable rules is it getting harder and harder to find those little improvements?
AG: Yes, the gains that we find in the tunnel are getting smaller and smaller, and are getting harder and harder to find. And you have to think harder and harder to get those returns. We can see that in the tunnel - if you carry on the same route the gains get smaller, so you have to start thinking of other ways of generating the downforce. There are a couple of areas that we are exploring at the moment that look quite fruitful.

Q: Often when the rules are stable the field gets closer together. Is that an extra motivation for you and the team?
AG: Yes, it would obviously be good to be racing closer to the front. There was definitely a Premier League last year, and it will be good to be snapping at their heels! That’s certainly the plan.

Q: The schedule was different this year in that the car passed its crash tests in December. Has that freed you up to focus on development?
AG: As far as I am concerned, this car was designed more than two or three months ago, and what I’m looking at now is all the development parts. We’re scheduling all the new parts that are going to come in for the last test or the first race, so they are the ones on which we can focus. The net result is that we will be adding performance on the car come Melbourne because of the shape we’re in now. We will have that capacity in February to really push through updates in a much shorter period of time, because everything else will have been sorted. That’s really what we’re gearing ourselves up for - the first race - and it will be a little bit different from the car that we are going to run at the first test.

Q: Finally, how excited are you about the driver line-up?
AG: I’m looking forward to seeing Nico (Hulkenberg) in the car and it will be Paul’s (di Resta’s) second year, so I don’t think we could ask for a stronger line-up. It gives us an extra edge - they will extract a higher percentage of the car’s performance than other drivers, which is great for us. I’m looking forward to the racing now!


Source: F1.com