Di Resta: Beating Sauber still possible

Paul di Resta believes Force India can target Sauber's sixth place in the constructors' championship following his best finish in Formula 1.

The Scotsman produced a strong drive in the Singapore Grand Prix to finish fourth, right behind championship leader Fernando Alonso.

Force India's recent form has led some to suggest it could even be a threat to Mercedes, but di Resta is more cautious due to the 61-point gap between the two British-based teams.

"I think fifth in all honesty is out of reach," di Resta told AUTOSPORT. "It would take a lot of bad luck for them and for us a lot of good luck, but I'm not going to say we're giving up because you can see what we can do.

"We just have to keep plugging away but sixth should be a good ask for us. Williams [eighth in the standings] are obviously showing strong signs as well."

Force India is currently seventh in the constructors' table, 26 points behind Sauber. It is now 21 points ahead of Williams, which again failed to score any points in Singapore.

Di Resta's caution about Force India's prospects is also based on the fact that he does not expect the team to be as strong at the next race in Japan.

"If there is any track that could show up our weaknesses then it is Suzuka," he said. "This [Singapore] is a bit special as there are more bumps and kerbs to contend with.

"I'd like to think it will be the same with the next one but I'm not going to commit. I'll stand at the back like I was on Friday here. I have not been on the simulator yet so I will work hard and see if we can achieve the maximum we can."

Source: Autosport.com

Race - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (4th)
“Fourth place is a great team result and my best day in Formula One so far. We qualified well, raced hard and took advantage of a few retirements, but in the final stint we certainly showed that we had great pace. I don’t think the safety car really impacted on my race too much and I was able to make clean restarts each time and hold my position. I was very close to Alonso in the closing stages, but was just missing the pace to really challenge him for the podium. This result is just what we needed for our fight in the championship and I want to say a massive ‘thank you’ to the boys in the garage who put in a huge effort, as always.”

Nico Hulkenberg (14th)
“It was a pretty rough race for me. The strategy we chose by starting on the soft tyres could have paid off, but I was stuck behind Kimi and Michael early on and couldn’t really show the true pace of the car. The timing of the safety cars was not ideal and the second one really hurt my race. So overall things have not really fallen into place for me this weekend, but there are a lot of positives to take with the pace of the car and the result for Paul.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“A superb day for the team and especially for Paul who should be very proud of his performance. It was a very mature drive and he made the most of the great pace we had in the car. The safety car worked out well for him and for a while we were even thinking a podium might be possible as Paul chased Alonso in the closing stages. It’s a credit to the team that we were just a few seconds away from the podium and able to match the race pace of Ferrari. The 12 points give us a boost in the championship, lifting us 21 clear of Williams and closing the gap on Sauber ahead. I’m disappointed things did not work out for Nico because we had a quick car today and should have come away with more points. The safety car hurt his race badly and there was no way to recover

Source: F1.com

SingaporeGP Qulifying - ForceIndia Drivers quotes

Force India
Paul di Resta (6th, Q3 -1m 47.241s)
“I was very happy with the balance of the car yesterday, but struggled this afternoon during final practice and we seemed to lose our way. So we went back to basics and built up our speed again during qualifying and managed to deliver the laptime when it mattered during Q3 – in fact, it was my best lap of the weekend. So we’re in a strong position for tomorrow and hopefully we can come away with some big points. We looked quite competitive yesterday during long runs so we will focus on the strategy tonight and make sure we make the right calls tomorrow with the tyres.”

Nico Hulkenberg (11th, Q2 - 1m 47.975)
“We had a car capable of reaching Q3 today, so I feel disappointed to miss out on the top ten. I just didn’t find a good rhythm in Q2 and my last lap was not good enough – I made a few small errors which cost me time and a place in Q3. Now I need to focus on making the most of tomorrow and doing what we can with the strategy. Starting eleventh means I get a free choice on tyres and we’ve seen already that tyre performance and degradation will be a big factor in the race. I need to get a clean start, get through the opening lap and see what I can do.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“Having shown strong pace during qualifying in Monza, it’s especially satisfying to see the car also working well here in Singapore – a circuit with completely different characteristics. The speed has been in the car right from the start of free practice and we delivered when it mattered in qualifying. Paul’s sixth place puts us where we need to be to score points and maybe even challenge for a podium. Nico, too, has been very quick here, but he didn’t get a clean lap together in Q2. He’s on the cusp of the top ten and I’m sure he will fight hard to move forward tomorrow.”

Source: F1.com

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:51.943, 8th; P2- 1:49.300, 6th
“I think you always need time to get up to speed on any street circuit so it was useful to have some trouble-free sessions and get the laps under my belt. The balance we have with the car is already looking good, but there’s always room to improve things overnight. So I think we’re in decent shape and the data collected should leave us well prepared for Sunday’s race.”

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:51.658, 7th; P2 - 1:49.339, 7th
“It’s been a positive Friday overall and I think we are looking competitive here. The rain at the start of the first session didn’t really have an impact on us and we still had plenty of time to get through the programme. I think in terms of race preparation we can be happy because we focussed on long runs and have lots of information going into tomorrow.”

Jakob Andreasen, Force India chief engineer
“It has been a typical Friday with all our usual systems checks and procedures. We also made sure to get both cars doing long runs on both tyre compounds, which will hopefully pay dividends on Sunday night. The general balance of the car was good right from the first few runs and our pace looks competitive on low and high fuel. So a very productive day, the drivers seem happy and we have lots of data to study in order to improve further ahead of qualifying.”

Source: F1.com

Vijay Mallya believes Force India can catch Sauber

Force India boss Vijay Mallya believes his team can still "chase down" rival Sauber in the championship despite the gap to the Swiss squad.

Sauber has been one of the surprises of the year, securing four podium finishes and even fighting for victory in Malaysia and Spa.

Force India is 37 points behind the Hinwil-based squad with seven races to go.
And although Sauber has looked stronger than Force India in recent races, Mallya reckons a good result could change the championship situation quickly.

"There have been various moments where they've drawn away and we seemingly can't catch them, but all it takes is a podium finish that brings in a lot of points, and if we get a couple of them, we could still chase them down," said Mallya.

"Two years ago Williams got us by one point in Brazil, so every point does matter!"

The Indian believes his team has fallen the wrong side of fortune several times this year, but he acknowledges that the fight in the midfield has intensified massively.
"We haven't had our fair share of luck yet this season. Take the case of Spa - it was probably as close as we've had to a podium finish, but once again, it was not to be. But I'm an optimist and I don't give up!

"It's tough, Williams are strong, Sauber are strong. And look at what's happening with Lotus. A lot of teams that were regarded as midfield teams last year are now pushing the big boys pretty hard."

Source: autosport.com

Singapore preview quotes - Force India

Paul di Resta, Force India
2011 Qualifying - 10th, 2011 Race - 6th
“I had a good race there last year and we’ve seen already that the car has been strong on street circuits this year. So I’m hoping that we will go well there, optimise the set-up and pick up some good points. I think it’s a track everybody enjoys and it’s an interesting race because of the unusual schedule.

“(The lights) do such a good job that you don’t really notice. It’s almost better than if you are driving during the day with cloud cover. It’s just something you get used to really quickly. The other thing is you arrive there and stay on European time, and the night becomes your day so you don’t really suffer with jet lag.

“It’s not something I find difficult. The important thing is making sure you choose the right flight to arrive in Singapore at the right time of day. You also have to make sure the hotel staff don’t tap on your door in the morning at 9am because you need to be sleeping for another five hours! I always go to bed at 6am and wake up at 2pm, that’s my routine.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
“I took part in the 2010 race and thought it was a mega experience. The whole atmosphere in the paddock and working at night is fun because it makes a nice change. We stay on European time so the body keeps its rhythm, although it does feel strange to be going to bed when the sun is rising.

“It’s a very long lap with some tricky bumps and kerbs, and you need to get close to the walls if you want to be quick. So getting the perfect lap is not easy. It’s anti-clockwise, too, although it’s not as demanding on the neck as somewhere like Interlagos because most of the corners are low to medium speed.

“For me Singapore is the toughest race of the year - physically and mentally. I think it’s because there are 23 corners on the track and it’s one of the longest races of the year - always close to the two hour limit. So you certainly feel it after the race because of the high temperatures and humidity.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“In Singapore the atmosphere is brilliant. It’s a night race, of course, and more significantly for me there are a lot of people of Indian origin in Singapore, so they relate a lot to Sahara Force India, which is always nice. When I was living there, Singapore was very different to what it is now. It’s a lot more exciting, there are a lot more things to do, and it’s a lot more tourist friendly. Singapore should be a strong race for us because the track has always suited our car.

Source: Formula1.com