Force India aiming for top six

Force India is under no illusions about the task it faces to keep rival McLaren behind in the championship standings this year..


The Silverstone-based squad finished seventh last season and started the 2013 campaign with the goal of regaining the sixth spot it secured a year earlier.
After the first four races of the season, Force India is in fifth, three points ahead of McLaren, which has endured a poor start to 2013.

Force India's deputy team principal Bob Fernley admitted, however, that sixth remains the main goal, as he reckons it will be very hard to keep McLaren behind.

"Our goal was obviously to regain sixth as a minimum. We are fifth, just, and there are three points between us and McLaren," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.

"Can we hold them off for the whole season? It will be tough, but we will give it a go. We have to be pragmatic about it, they are a good team."
Force India has scored points with both its cars only in the season-opening race in Australia, and Fernley is aware of the importance of having both Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta in the points more often.

"That's what we have got to do. We have got to be focused and make sure that when the opportunity comes we take it and get both cars in the points," he said.

He is convinced, however, that it is a matter of time before Force India finishes on the podium after di Resta was fourth in Bahrain last weekend.

"It is going to be when, you can't get any closer than we got in Bahrain," he added. "It's frustrating not to get it. We are competing against very strong teams and delivering.

"I always thought this year would be harder than last year simply because most people are on top of the tyres and the cream always rises.

"We are fighting hard with the cream and should be grateful we are there. In Bahrain, we could easily have had two cars in the top six on merit."

Source: Autosport.com 
 

Force India's Fernley heaps praise on Paul Di Resta

Di Resta endured a wretched end to last year, collecting just two points from the closing six grands prix, and in the final race in Brazil crashing out for the first time in his Formula One career.

With Di Resta out of contract with the Silverstone-based marque at the end of this season, the Scot knew he had to come flying out of the traps.
With 20 points from his first four grands prix, the 27-year-old has made his best start to a year since first arriving in F1 in 2011.
On Sunday in Bahrain, Di Resta came within a whisker of finishing on the podium for the first time in his 43 races, at least equalling his career-high of fourth.
Speaking to PA Sport, Fernley said: “He’s done a great job. He dusted himself down after what was, for him, a disappointing end to 2012, but with all due respect there were circumstances around that.
“We identified them, and credit to Paul, he accepted where those were — they were not really his issues — and he has come out fighting this year.
“There was certainly a bit of pressure on him at the start, but he’s stuck to his task, which gives you an idea as to the depth of Paul’s ability.” 

Source: mid-day.com 
 

Force India confident of podium finish soon

There is little doubting Sahara Force India’s competitive abilities in the middle of the Formula One grid. But anyone who watched last Sunday’s Bahrain GP would be convinced that they are getting closer to achieving bigger things.
Scot Paul di Resta nearly fetched Force India the third spot. Lotus’s Romain Grosjean had just come out with new tyres and getting past Di Resta, with older tyres, was bound to happen. Nevertheless, the drive was encouraging.
“It was very positive. We were competitive in qualifying and in the race,” said Di Resta during an interaction here. “When you are a midfield team and you pick up results like this, you have to be happy. We should not be disappointed on missing the podium because the other cars were faster. Maybe, with better luck, we could have been on the podium. But we will take the positives and head into the European season. Hopefully, we will pick up a better place.”
While Di Resta nearly bagged his first F1 podium, his German teammate Adrian Sutil was done in by a puncture after a collision with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and finished 13th. Better luck will probably see him do far better. “I would say I was unlucky in the last three races. But I’m very confident that we will get a good result very soon,” he averred. “The car is very fast and that is nice to see. I think we are very close to the podium.”
Tyre degradation may not be much of an issue in Europe than at Asian tracks. “Some European summers can be hot but the next few races should be okay. More than the heat, some of the older tracks are rougher and that could contribute to tyre wear,” said Di Resta.
He also said that some upgrades could be expected.
Challenging the bigger teams in a race or two is one thing, but it takes a lot to do it consistently. Right now, Force India are fifth in the constructors’ championship with 26 points, just three ahead of McLaren. Certainly a good position to be in. To stay ahead is going to be tough. “I would not expect them to be behind us for too long. They have huge resources behind them and I have respect for them. They get their act together very quickly,” said Di Resta.
With the confidence gained in the four races so far, the natural instinct will be to target bigger teams. But Di Resta prefers to be realistic. “Sure, I want to be at the top but you have to be realistic. For a team like ours, to be in the position that we are in is a great achievement. The whole team is working as a unit now,” he added.
Instead of gunning for teams that are slightly difficult to reach, he feels consolidating their position over other midfield players like Sauber and Williams would be better.

Source: Dnaindia.com

Force India's hopes remain a hit after Bahrain podium miss

"Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it."- Barack Obama, November 7, 2012.

Force India must concede that its problems, probably the least it has had at the start of a season since it stepped into Formula 1, are nothing compared to what American president Barack Obama faces as he heads an unstable and a vast economy.

But what they do have in common – other than that 2008 was the year both came into prominence, one winning a bid and the other stepping into a sport - is hope.

And while Obama’s approval ratings may be dwindling, Force India has been on the upward spiral – from leading to the season-ending race in Brazil last year to challenging for a podium four races into the 2013 campaign.

Its potential was evident at the Australian Grand Prix when Adrian Sutil, who had missed the entire last season and had limited track time in testing, briefly led the race albeit largely credited to its strategy.

Three races later, Force India has been contemplating what it could have done in hindsight to grab the final spot on the podium in Bahrain.

“Nothing,” di Resta replied. “We believe we had optimised the strategy.”
Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, with three pit stops, snatched third place from the Scot in the closing stages and finished 2.2 seconds ahead of the two-stopping Force India.

“Obviously a team of engineers analyses that,” di Resta told F1Pulse.com defending the strategy, which resulted him equalling his best result in F1 by finishing fourth, as he did in Singapore last year.

Such was the pace of the Force India at the Bahrain Grand Prix that Adrian Sutil, who got entangled with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa on the opening laps and was forced to pit with a puncture, was nearly two seconds faster than Sebastian Vettel – excluding the first two laps - by the end of the race.

The Red Bull won the Grand Prix by 9.1 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and 19.5 seconds ahead of Grosjean. Surely, di Resta had missed something then, you’d ask?

“Adrian's race was quicker because he wasn't in traffic as much as I was. So you have to take all that into consideration,” said di Resta, suggesting his tyres were affected adversely much more than his teammate, particularly as he tried to look for avenues to pass the frontrunners early in the race.

“But we cannot remain disappointed with what we achieved,” the 27-year-old pointed out referring to Force India starting with both its cars in the top six for the first time. “Given where we were, we gave everything we had to give.”

Sure enough, the Bahrain Grand Prix post-race press release had di Resta quoted as saying that he had “managed to get 100 percent out of the car”, a belief validated by the engineers back at the factory later.
Sutil, meanwhile, has had two torrid races in a row. He had never scored in China and Bahrain and he extended that barren run this year, but with no fault of his own in either. And with Force India running at its optimum in years, the German may have missed some big opportunities.

“I know I missed out on some points,” he told F1Pulse.com “But these were only four races out of 19 so my target is to score a lot more points in the next 15 races and there'll be chances. There'll be chances to be on the podium. There'll be chances to score some decent points.”
Force India, the 30-year-old Sutil said, intends to carry its momentum through the course of the whole season.

“It's not about winning one race, like Williams did (in 2012). They won one race and they failed in every other race last year. And they were behind us at the end of the season,” he recalled. “So consistency is what it’s all about. There's nothing to worry about and to think that these first four races were our only opportunity (to score). That's not the case,” he said firmly.

But the ailing McLaren, which is currently trailing Force India in the constructors’ championship, continues to be its biggest threat with the British team planning to introduce a new front and rear wing, sidepods, deflectors, exhaust, floor and an engine cover at the Spanish Grand Prix next month.

“We will have a little update,” said Sutil in contrast. “Since China we have had a new package we have been trying to run. We decided not to do that for now but we'll keep on trying. We just need to understand how it works and to be confident to put it on to the car.

“In Barcelona, we'll definitely have some new parts to try again to put us in a better position,” the German added.

Moreover, the temperatures in Bahrain helped Force India immensely, as it got its tyres to work more or less as expected. In the European leg of the season, however, conditions are expected to be relatively cooler.

And with Pirelli likely to change compounds before the next race in Spain, it spells out as more uncertainty for Force India to deal with.

“The tyres, we are good on those but I don't think we should be really worried about them,” Sutil said. “They'll probably change a little bit for Barcelona. I think there'll be a new hard compound. The medium stays the same. But we'll still be able to perform well.

“I don't think it’s only a tyre related thing that we are so much better than everyone else,” he continued. “I am not worried about the new tyres. I am looking forward to any challenge.”

It’s not just tyre related and it isn’t just suspension related either. Force India hasn’t got its magnifying glass out to spy in the Mercedes or Lotus garages just yet.

“The whole design of the car, I wouldn’t say it’s just the suspension (that’s the key element),” says di Resta. “We have many different things in the car that we can control and that obviously changes each year... It’s a vicious circle but it’s about understanding them.”

Force India, currently in a virtuous circle, can bet on the competition getting stronger in Spain, and its advantage potentially diminishing from McLaren’s resurgence, lower temperatures, changes in tyre compounds and immediate rivals Sauber and Williams eating away some of its points.
But there’s still hope, but not that of blind optimism.

Source : F1pulse.com
 

Bahrain GP - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (4th)
“It’s great to round off the fly-away races with a fourth place and a race that was probably my strongest Grand Prix. The podium was very close, but with our strategy we were always going to be vulnerable at the end of the race - especially to Grosjean who had two new sets of medium tyres. I had a good start to the race, a strong opening stint and we showed our true speed today, but ultimately fourth place was the maximum that was possible. We will get on the podium one day, hopefully soon, but for now we can be very happy with the points we’ve scored today. A big thanks to the whole team because it’s been an excellent weekend and I feel we managed to get 100 percent out of the car.”

Adrian Sutil (13th)
“It’s disappointing to get a puncture in a race that looked so promising. My start was clean and I was racing Massa going into turn four. I was on the outside; I gave him a lot of space but he was off-line and made contact with my front right tyre. I don’t know what he did exactly but I had a puncture immediately. I had to pit and lost a lot of time, which ended my chance of scoring points. I had amazing pace in the race and I just kept my head down to try and recover something from the race, but I had lost too much with the puncture. But I’m happy for the team and fourth place for Paul gives us more points. There are many more races to come so we will keep focused and next time score points with both cars.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“A tremendous job by the team and a wonderful drive by Paul saw us come within a whisker of the podium today. Although we missed out on third, the twelve points scored keep us up in fifth place in the Championship and give us every reason to be optimistic for the coming races. Of course, we could have achieved so much more had Adrian not picked up a puncture on lap one. The contact with Massa proved very costly because Adrian’s race pace was on a par with Paul’s and we should have brought both cars home in the points. We will focus on the positives and enjoy this fourth place, which has confirmed the pace of the car and shown once again that we can race up at the front and beat some of the top teams.”

Source : Formula1.com

Di Resta not downbeat over podium loss

Paul di Resta refused to be too downbeat despite being denied what would have been his first Formula 1 podium just six laps from the finish of the Bahrain Grand Prix.


The Briton's two-stop strategy, married to a third-row starting berth, meant he was a permanent fixture at the front of the race, even leading for three laps.

He looked well-placed for at least a podium heading into the final sequence of pitstops, but he lost second to the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and then came under increasing pressure from the Finn's team-mate Romain Grosjean. The latter was able to find a way through six laps from the end.

Despite losing out on a breakthrough grand prix rostrum, di Resta emphasised the positives he and Force India were able to take from the race.

"Overall we can be positive. It does [match my best result] and it's probably the strongest race I've had," di Resta said.

"I ran very strong in race and was strong throughout the weekend. I led for quite a while. We can be on the podium one day.

"[The podium fight] was very close. We were always going to be disadvantaged with our strategy and unfortunately I think Grosjean not qualifying, and having two new sets of medium tyres, [was] always going to be strong.

"Had he got caught up behind [Mark] Webber I think I'd have been OK.

"[Fourth] is a big credit to all the boys. We didn't get the rewards in Malaysia but to come away with one really good results before the European season is very good - and we've got some goodies coming [for Spain]."

Source : Autosport.com

Exclusive Q&A with Force India’s Adrian Sutil

Despite retiring from the Malaysian Grand Prix with a technical problem, Force India’s Adrian Sutil arrived in China in good spirits having impressed many with his pace this season following a year on the sidelines in 2012. In the Shanghai paddock he reflected on both his strong form and his hopes for this Sunday's race...

Q: Adrian, have you managed to get over the disappointments of Malaysia yet?
Adrian Sutil: Oh yes, for sure. If you want to improve as a team you have to go a high risk. And things like this happen…
Q: As there have been three weeks between the races in Malaysia and China, one imagines the issue was examined in depth at the factory. Can you tell us what the findings were?
AS: Yes, I can. It was a problem with the wheel nut, which is a new one and which should guarantee that our pit stop time improves. The team tested this nut a hundred times without any problems - and in Melbourne it worked super. Only in Malaysia did it become somewhat bedevilled - but it is solved now!
Q: It was a shock to see both cars having to retire because of the same issue and emotions must have run high, but in the evening your team principal, Vijay Mallya, could already laugh about it, saying that it is better to have trouble at one race but also to know that the VJM06 is a fast car. Do you agree?
AS: Of course I totally agree! (laughs) More important than anything else is the fact that our car is fast. Now we have to keep that momentum - and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t!
Q: Having a DNF with both cars at the second race and still sitting in P5 in the constructors’ championship with McLaren behind you: what does that tell you about Force India’s performance level?
AS: We have a strong package and we need to score as many points as possible as long as we are in this position. But we are under no illusions: McLaren will come back. That’s for sure. But this weekend - and Bahrain next week - should be two more races where we can push and fight for good results and points. Everything beyond that we will have to see. So Jenson (Button) and Sergio (Perez) watch out! (laughs)
Q: In what areas would you say that your engineers got it right with the new car? How much does the engine contribute, bearing in mind that McLaren also runs a Mercedes engine?
AS: The Mercedes engine is a very strong and very reliable engine. With this you are already half way there! Concerning our car, it was very strong in 2012, especially towards the end and our engineers did a great job over the winter to improve it even further. I had a great feeling in this car from the very first lap - and the result in Melbourne showed that.
Q: Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said that you have been his surprise so far this season. What do you make of that?
AS: It’s very nice to hear this from Dr. Marko as he has a lot of experience and has seen and worked with many drivers. It is also nice to hear that there are still things that surprise him…
Q: Are you amazed by the fact that after a one year ‘sabbatical’ and very little winter testing you have often been quicker than your team mate, Paul di Resta?
AS: Yes, to be honest I thought I would need some more time to get into the racing mode again as we have seen in the past that the so called ‘comeback kids’ do need a kind of ‘heating up’ phase. But the team and the strong performance of the car made it very easy for me to immediately switch back on again and deliver such strong performances.
Q: Shanghai must hold very mixed feelings for you as your recent off-track troubles began here in 2011. With what emotions did you arrive here?
AS: I don’t look back. My focus is on the race. The past is forgotten and at an end - even if you don’t feel it in that very moment, it was a good year with a lot of important experiences that added to my development. As strange as it may sound: maybe I am a better driver now.
Q: Over the past few years we have seen cool conditions in China, similar perhaps to Melbourne. Will this play to your advantage again, even if you don't count the track as one of your favourites?
AS: If I‘m successful here I will count this track as one of my favourites in the future! (laughs) Yes, looking at it from the outside Shanghai should play to our advantage and with the Malaysia hiccups solved we should be able to fight for a good result and to bag some good points.

Source : F1.com

China preview quotes - Force India

Paul di Resta, Force India
2012 Qualifying - 15th, 2012 Race - 12th
“I am really looking forward to the next two races in China and Bahrain. We were unlucky not to get any points in Malaysia, but we can take some positives from the performance we showed on the track. We looked to be one of the fastest cars during the early part of the race. It’s a good sign for the rest of the season. The climate in China is very different compared to the first two races, but we’ve performed well in the cool conditions of Melbourne and in the heat of Malaysia. The team has had a sensible approach to the start of the season; we worked hard to get a good understanding of our package and we’re already reaping the rewards. The objective for China is to make up for the missed opportunity of Malaysia and be firmly back in the points. It is important not to get carried away and to keep doing our job at each race. We appear to be in a good position at the moment, but no one can say where we will be compared to our rivals after the next two races. We know McLaren are a very strong team and they will develop well, so all we can do is continue pushing hard to try and stay ahead of them. We have been doing a good job so far - better than many people expected - but there’s a long way to go.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2012 Qualifying - n/a, 2012 Race - n/a
“The car was definitely quick in Malaysia, but I felt more comfortable in the dry and I struggled more during the wet part of qualifying. The start of the race was good: I was running in eighth position before my first stop, but that’s when things started to go wrong in the pits. It’s a shame we had the problem because the car felt very strong, but sometimes these things happen. Now we need to focus on the performance to try and repeat it in China. The layout is not too different to Sepang, so it should suit us again and I hope we can be strong there. Also, we know there are lots of areas where we can improve because we have learned a lot from the first couple of races. The other teams will not stand still so we need to keep pushing hard and keep up this momentum. We will have a new tyre combination in China - the soft and the medium - and we appear to be quite good at managing our tyres so we need to use that to our advantage. It’s an interesting circuit, although it’s not one of my favourites. It’s modern, of course, and there are some unusual corners, such as turn one - the long right hander. You need to be perfect through these slow speed corners or you lose too much time. It’s wide and you can run some different lines through a lot of the corners, which is probably why it’s a track where you can overtake quite easily.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“The first two races of 2013 have been an encouraging start to the season. The VJM06 is a solid contender with competitive race pace; we have an excellent pair of drivers and the right technical package in place. Most importantly, the whole team is working together well. Even though the last race in Malaysia was very disappointing, I know we have the potential to bounce back quickly and get a good result in Shanghai. Throughout the Sepang weekend, we had a quick car and the drivers felt good about their chances. We were confident of bringing both cars home in the points until the wheel nut issue let us down. We’ve had three weeks to understand what went wrong and have worked hard fix the root cause of the problem. China has always produced spectacular races and it’s not uncommon to experience some wet weather, but we know that both our drivers and the VJM06 are comfortable in all conditions. It shows how far we have come as a team. In the past we used to hope for rain as our only chance to upset the front-runners, but now we are more competitive in all conditions. The next two weekends, with races in China and Bahrain, will put us in a position to see where we really stand in comparison with our rivals. Everyone in the team is looking forward to this challenge and I am confident we will put the disappointment of Malaysia behind us and bring home some big points.

Source : F1.com 
 

Force India sure wheelnut issue fixed

Force India boss Vijay Mallya is confident his team has rectified the issues with its wheelnut system that marred its Malaysian Grand Prix last month.
Both Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil were forced to retire from the second race of the season because of problems with the captive wheelnut system the team is using this year.

Mallya says the team has had time to understand and correct the problem, and is confident Force India will be able enjoy a strong Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

"Even though the last race in Malaysia was very disappointing, I know we have the potential to bounce back quickly and get a good result in Shanghai," said Mallya.

"Throughout the Sepang weekend, we had a quick car and the drivers felt good about their chances.

"We were confident of bringing both cars home in the points until the wheelnut issue let us down. We've had three weeks to understand what went wrong and have worked hard fix the root cause of the problem."

The Indian reckons the upcoming races will show Force India's true potential after a promising start to the campaign in Australia.

"The next two weekends, with races in China and Bahrain, will put us in a position to see where we really stand in comparison with our rivals," he said.
"Everyone in the team is looking forward to this challenge and I am confident we will put the disappointment of Malaysia behind us and bring home some big points."

Source: autosport.com

Di Resta: '14 car to hinder development

Force India will have to compromise either its late-2013 performance or next year's car, reckons Paul di Resta, as he does not think his team can sustain dual development programmes.
 
With Formula 1 switching to the very different V6 turbo-powered rules next season, there will be scant carry-over between this year's cars and their successors.

While larger teams are optimistic they can keep upgrading their current designs until the end of the fight without any impact on 2014 preparations, di Resta thinks it will be tougher for Force India.

"When you have smaller resources, you are going to be more compromised," he said. "Whether that is going to be this year or next year, I don't know.

"It's whether they are going to be able to pump more into next year's car; whether a team like us can keep working away [on the current car] because the pressure is not about coming out at the top next year as it is for the likes of Ferrari and McLaren."

Di Resta thinks many teams will stop work on their 2013 machines in the summer.

"What's more important is that you have a good rate of development until June or July. Then they will switch off," he said.

"How much do you focus on a car that goes out of date in the middle of November?
 
"My aim would be to develop as much as you can until June and then essentially it will stabilise a lot. That will be interesting, seeing where people stabilise."

Force India has begun the 2013 F1 season as the fifth-quickest package behind Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes, but di Resta reckons strenuous effort will be required to maintain that.

"It needs to stay where it is or get better because people will react fairly quickly," he said.

"I don't think you can underestimate anybody when you are racing McLaren and Sauber.
"They are teams with a lot of power behind them and can put a lot of pressure on you." 

Source : Autosport.com

Di Resta: winter approach paying off

Force India has been vindicated in its decision to devote so much of its pre-season preparation to tyre work, reckons Paul di Resta.
 
The team did not stand out during the winter, but has begun the 2013 Formula 1 season as the fifth-quickest, behind only Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes.

Although Force India's Malaysian Grand Prix was wrecked by a wheelnut issue, it led in Melbourne with Adrian Sutil and has been a consistent top-10 factor.
Di Resta puts this down to Force India working so hard in ensuring its 2013 car was in harmony with the latest generation of Pirellis.

"I think it was a good approach in the winter," he said. "Some days we sacrificied a lot of lower fuel running to work on high fuel runs.

"We were very aware of what we wanted to achieve and where we wanted to be with the car and I think we've done that.

"[The early performance] was credit to how that worked and the data that we fed back was essentially all in preparation for Melbourne."
The Scot said being gentle on tyres was a fundamental part of the VJM06's DNA.

"Essentially, we had a different wear profile," di Resta explained. "There is something that you can work into it to influence it.

"What we saw in Barcelona [testing] was high degradation and everybody talked about the tyres but essentially in Melbourne it was more of an anormal circumstance in terms of the temperatures and the track temps.

 "But I think we were quite clear in our approach and how we were fixed for the weekend."

Source: autosport.com