Hungary GP - Race - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (18th)
“I made a good start and was very aggressive on the opening lap. I think I was up to about P12, but from there on it was difficult because I was struggling with the balance and tyre performance. Without the speed we did not have the flexibility to make the strategy work and points were looking out of reach. Towards the end of the race the team called me to the pits because it seems we had picked up a hydraulic issue, similar to the problem with the other car. Over the summer break we will regroup, analyse things properly and take a fresh approach into the second part of the year.”

Adrian Sutil (DNF)
“It’s disappointing not to finish, especially as the race was coming back to me after a poor start on the medium tyres. Just before my pit stop I had a problem with the gear shifts and I could not shift up any more. I came into the pits and it became clear we had a hydraulic problem so the team immediately told me to park the car.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“It’s not been the easiest of weekends for us and it’s disappointing to come away from Budapest without any points. Adrian celebrated his 100th Grand Prix this weekend, but he remained out of luck in Hungary and had to retire early with a hydraulic problem. His strategy was looking good so he missed a chance of points today. Paul’s race was quite straightforward, but we did not have the speed to make his three-stop strategy work - despite his superb start. With a few laps to go we noticed a similar hydraulic issue with his car and he also had to retire. With the next race coming up in four weeks’ time, we will analyse our performance and work hard to recapture our form in Spa.”


Source: F1.com

Hungary GP Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Adrian Sutil (11th, Q2 - 1m 20.569s)
“The first part of qualifying was quite tricky and it was difficult to deliver the pace we expected. I had a good feeling with the car, but we were not especially quick and I was only P15 by the end of Q1. I did not really know where we were losing out, but the team made some adjustments and that improved things for Q2. My lap times were much better and for a while it looked like I was going to make the top ten, but then I got pushed down to P11 at the last moment. I’m happy with my lap and that was the limit for me today. P11 is a good place to start because it leaves us with more of a choice about the tyre strategy. The goal tomorrow is to push forward and try to score some points.”

Paul di Resta (18th, Q1 - 1m 22.043s)
“A tough session and I am a bit confused as to why we struggled so much on the soft tyre. Throughout all the sessions we’ve looked more competitive on the softs, but in Q1 they just didn’t switch on. We’ve given ourselves a lot of work to do tomorrow, but we will go away and come back refreshed and ready to fight. We need to move forward so we will think hard tonight about the strategy, but at least we have plenty of new tyres available. I think the main puzzle we need to solve is what happened to our performance today so that we can bounce back tomorrow.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Force India chief operating officer
“Finding the sweet spot with both cars has proved difficult this weekend and I think we saw the result of that in today’s qualifying performance. Adrian squeezed through to Q2 and set a time good enough to put him on the cusp of the top ten. That’s about where we expected our performance level to be and hopefully he can score points tomorrow. The changes made to Paul’s car ahead of qualifying certainly helped our performance on the medium tyres, but he struggled for speed on the softs. That’s something we will try to understand tonight because we expected him to be much higher up the grid. It’s a tough track for overtaking, but we will do all we can to give Paul a strategy to bring him into the points.”

Source : Formula1.com 

Sutil reaches 100 F1 races still chasing first podium

(Reuters) - Adrian Sutil is a man in a hurry but he needs to move up a gear in Hungary this weekend to have a chance of a first podium finish in his 100th Formula One grand prix.

The Force India driver, who has only ever raced for the one team in its various guises since his debut in 2007, told reporters that he was proud of the milestone but any celebrations would be limited.

"The fact is, it's now 100 grands prix and no podium and I want to be on the podium so I need to hurry up. I don't want to wait a long time to achieve this goal," the German said determinedly.

"But I never give up. I like it here and try to make it better and still believe
we can make it...this year we had some opportunities, it was close.

"But it's just that you are so on the limit to be in this area (of finishing in the top three), one little mistake and it's already gone. Whereas with a top team you can do mistakes and you finish still on the podium easily."

Sutil finished fourth in Italy in 2009, after starting on the front row for the first and only time in his career, and this season has a best of fifth in Monaco.
He missed the 2012 season, dropped by the team at the end of 2011 after a nightclub fracas in China involving a broken champagne glass, but returned this season to partner Britain's Paul Di Resta.

The tall German said he felt comfortable in the Silverstone-based team, which has gone from Jordan to Midland to Spyker to Force India.

McLaren's Jenson Button won in Hungary in 2011 in his 200th race and Sutil, without being superstitious, hoped his 100th could be marked with a big step up for him.

"One hundred (races), it makes me feel a bit older," he said. "I have to perform and I have it in my hands this weekend.

"There's still a lot of time and I look forward to the future. I have my goals, I
haven't achieved all the goals I wanted within the 100 grands prix. I thought it would be a bit easier to climb on the podium."

Sutil brings some sponsorship to the team but his future at Force India beyond this season remains open.

He said he knew where he wanted to go and was confident in his qualities as a driver.

The 30-year-old, who came back after being handed an 18 month suspended jail sentence and fined 200,000 eurosfor the Shanghai incident, bristled when asked by a reporter to be more specific about them.

"You don't know what my qualities are?," he asked. "You like always writing something bad? People are quite afraid to say something good, they are more easy to say something bad about someone.

"I think after so many years people should realise my qualities.

"I don't need to tell you how good I am. I show it every weekend here on the circuit...I am still here after six years so that just shows I do something right, I have my qualities and I don't need to explain them." (Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Source: in.Reutres.com 

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:23.390, 7th; P2 - 1:22.304, 10th
“It was a positive morning session and quite early on I had found a good balance with the car. In the afternoon we were working mainly on the tyres and trying to get the most from them. I felt better on the soft compared to the medium, but it was tricky to get them working all the time. The main thing is that we got some good information and we can hopefully improve things for tomorrow. Apart from the tyres the overall balance is good: the car behaves well under braking and on turn-in, and I’m feeling comfortable.”

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:24.608, 18th; P2 - 1:22.526, 11th
“It’s not been the most straightforward of days and right from the start of practice I was chasing the set-up of the car. We definitely made some progress this afternoon, but there are a lot of things to discuss tonight to try and get on top of things ahead of qualifying. Today was the first chance to really start doing performance work with new tyre construction and we managed to do 60 laps, which gives us lots of information going into the weekend.”

Jakob Andreasen, Force India chief engineer
“Changing tyre construction mid-way through the season presents a lot of challenges so today’s programme was largely focussed on learning more about the medium and soft compound tyres. It proved tricky to find the right operating window consistently, but it has been a very useful day in terms of learning and gathering the right data. As for the car balance, we made steady progress. Paul had a difficult morning but was happier with the car by the end of FP2. Adrian’s feedback was encouraging and he was inside the top ten during both sessions. With the high temperatures set to continue over the weekend, it’s clear that we still have some work to do.”

Source: Formula1.com 

Exclusive Q&A - Force India’s Paul di Resta

Luck hasn’t always been on Paul di Resta’s side this season, but as is the norm for the highly-regarded Scot, he has consistently made the best of things, proving his worth with a superb fourth place in Bahrain and point-scoring drives in all bar two rounds, often from less than representative grid positions. We caught up with the Force India star in Budapest to get his thoughts on the coming weekend, his 2013 campaign to date and his plans for the future…

Q: Paul, since Mark Webber announced his departure from F1 racing there has been endless talk about driver moves. What is your part in this matter? Where do you believe the grass is greener?
Paul di Resta: I have no idea! (laughs) From what I hear Kimi (Raikkonen) and Daniel (Ricciardo) are up for the Red Bull cockpit and that, of course, is something that you are very interested in as a driver, but for me I have to say that it is business as normal: working hard to get a reputation in Formula One and put yourself in a position that team principals know that they can rely on you and your skills. Given how it worked so far this season for Force India, I am very excited for the remainder of it…

Q: Lotus team principal Eric Boullier said that a lot of drivers have been knocking at his door enquiring about a vacancy should Kimi leave - have you been one of them?
PdR: Ha! To tell you the truth, my management team is looking at what is best for me to move forward. Next year will be a big year given that the regulations are changing so much, so you have to put yourself in a good position. So far it has been quite good for me, but I have to focus on keeping that up and keep proving that I can deliver.

Q: You are ninth in the standings - in front of Jenson Button - which doesn’t seem too bad. But looking at your season race by race, it could have been much better. Is fate not on your side?
PdR: I think that where we are in the standings is pretty cool, given the fact of the wheel nut issue in Malaysia and the three unfortunate qualifying sessions where we were extremely unfortunate - but that’s racing life! And I am sure people can look by and see it. But one thing that I see is that my race pace is very strong - coming from the back at three races in a row and scoring points. The reward was very high on these Sunday afternoons after the disappointment the day before.

Q: What would be your mid-season report?
PdR: Definitely positive. It was the best start into a Formula One season the team has ever had. As a team we are definitely punching above our weight compared to some of our rivals.

Q: What about qualifying? It seems to be part of your weekend that is jinxed…
PdR: It was decisions - it wasn’t qualifying. It was just unfortunate. If you look at the Silverstone qualifying - P5 in Silverstone with a Sahara Force India car - that was quite remarkable and showed our speed. And then we were one kilo underweight. And that one kilo didn’t make a difference. What I am saying is that we have done some good stuff in qualifying this year as well, so I wouldn’t say that it is one of the low points. But one of the big strengths has been racing consistency. The team really has stepped up - understanding the car was key, as it is only an evolution of the car we had last year - and look at the difference!

Q: How was that Silverstone experience: your home race, a fantastic qualifying, and then one kilo missing and the whole effort’s worth nothing?
PdR: Well, after the two qualifyings before at least I could prove what I can do so nobody can take away P5 for what it was. It was all fair. That one kilo wouldn’t have made any difference - the time would maybe have been two-hundredths slower so no change. We did a great job and were unfortunate that we had to come from the very back. And we finished in P9. Imagine what we could have done starting from P5! You don’t have to do the math to understand that it could have been a fantastic result.

Q: It’s your third F1 season so you must have an idea where you want to head to?
PdR: I want to win races and win championships - that simple. That’s what I want - wherever I can make this come true. It’s been a long time since I was on the podium - the longest absence from it in my whole career - so I definitely want to get back there. But I understand the position I am in at the moment and I am working as hard as I ever have.

Q: So there is still the dream of championship glory in your head?
PdR: Yes, I like to think so. It is in my head, definitely. It is something I’d like to achieve - absolutely.

Q: Force India, as you just said, are clearly punching above their weight. Will it continue? The prediction was that McLaren would bounce back sooner, but they haven’t, so is it realistic for Force India to finish the season in P5?
PdR: I think it is realistic. It will depend if McLaren are able to achieve more than they have been so far - and I don’t seen them doing anything special right now. McLaren have clearly underperformed, but given the reputation that they have - a championship-winning team - we will have a fight on our hands. But our boys are also working very hard - whether that will be enough we will see. I definitely hope it will be.

Q: You smelled the podium in Bahrain. When will that sweet smell of success come again?
PdR: Yeah, it was very close in Bahrain. But to be honest I wasn’t disappointed after the race because a fourth place for this team made for a better atmosphere than there was at Red Bull after the race. It was a special day back than - also special as it was so early in the season.

Q: Where would you say this chance will come again, looking at the tracks we are heading to in the second half of the season?
PdR: In F1 nothing and everything is realistic. Take 2012. After the summer break we had a really strong run until the end of the season, so my guess is that Spa, Monza and Singapore - these three tracks should suit us.

Q: So what was going on at the last race at Nurburgring?
PdR: I hope Nurburgring was just a case of the car not liking the track! (laughs) It was a difficult weekend as we underestimated the laps for pitting by two or three to be able to score points again. We came away telling ourselves that we nearly did it so we shouldn’t change too much. When we leave here on Monday we should have a better idea where the journey will take us until the last race.

Q: It seems to be a case of ‘the warmer the better’ for the Force India - is that so?
PdR: Yes. We’ve booked those announced 37 degrees for Sunday!

Q: You tested the revised tyres at Silverstone last week - will they help Force India to stay in P5?
PdR: Well, the new tyres are pretty similar to what we had so far. At the end of the day we were very restricted on what we could do. We helped Pirelli to understand the tyre demands for the rest of the year - and the team felt it best to use me for that. So not much data in our bags, which means that tomorrow will be a busy day and push the tyres to the limit.

Q: Will Force India introduce major updates for the next couple of races after the summer break?
PdR: It is team philosophy not to speak about any update schedule, but I think we are no different to all other teams in that we slowly but steadily start to focus on next year’s car.

Q: What do you expect for the weekend in terms of pecking order?
PdR: I hope this track will mix up the pecking order - and that it is a good chance for us to shine. Hot as hell, and making the tyres last - that could be our ideal mixture for a good weekend.

Q: What would Paul di Resta be happy with at the end of the season. Staying P9 in the standings - or even moving forward?
PdR: If I stayed ninth I would be ecstatic. It’s hard - but not impossible. 

Source: Formula1.com

Hungary preview quotes - Force India

Paul di Resta, Force India
2012 Qualifying -12th, 2012 Race - 12th
“I’m feeling positive (ahead of the weekend). At the start of the year it would have been hard to imagine that we would be fifth in the championship after nine races, but that’s what we’ve achieved. Every part of the team is working well and that’s been the key. There have been some missed opportunities, but we’ve always recovered well and been able to keep the momentum going. I’ve always enjoyed going to Budapest since I first visited in 2010 when I was the team’s third driver. It’s an historic city and I usually stay very close to the river in the centre. It’s full of interesting places and great restaurants. My racing memories are mixed, but the 2011 race was an exciting one on a damp track. I finished seventh - which was my best finish in Formula One at the time. (The track is) very demanding physically and mentally because you are nearly always in a corner. The layout feels more like a street track and all the corners flow into each other so you need to find the rhythm of the track and build your confidence with each lap. By the time the track is fully rubbered in it feels very satisfying to drive. There’s no reason why we can’t be competitive. The big unknown is the new Pirelli tyres. It’s a big challenge for all the teams to try and get on top of them quickly. It’s hard to say if they will impact on the performance level of the teams, but we will go into the weekend with the same approach and then target Q3 on Saturday and points on Sunday.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2012 Qualifying - n/a, 2012 Race - n/a
“The Hungarian Grand Prix is my 100th race in Formula One - it’s hard to believe how quickly time goes by! It’s a big milestone, for sure, but in the end it doesn’t really change anything. My goals remain the same as when I started my first event and that’s to win races. I still love the sport and I hope I can continue to drive these amazing cars for a long time. I’ve always enjoyed this event. It’s the mid-way point of the year just before the holidays and the weather is usually very nice. But it’s one of those places where I’ve not had much success. I’ve never scored points in Budapest so that’s the first objective this year. (The track is) very tight and twisty and there are not many places where you can catch your breath, apart from the pit straight. It’s dusty, too, and the track takes a while to clean up on Friday during practice. We usually run with maximum downforce there because after Monaco it’s the slowest circuit on the calendar. The track is tight and we need to qualify well because there are not many opportunities to overtake.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“The priority (for this weekend) remains the same as the Silverstone test: to get better understanding of the new Pirelli tyres. That’s been a key factor in our strong performances so far this year so we need to make sure we continue to deliver good tyre management. As a venue, the Hungaroring has not traditionally been our strongest track. Paul scored points a couple of years ago and it’s important to add some more to our tally this weekend.”


Source: Formual1.com (Official F1 Website)

Force India enjoys good first day of testing at Silverstone

Silverstone: Sahara Force India enjoyed a fruitful first day of the Young Driver Test as Paul di Resta and James Calado set the second and the fourth fastest timings respectively, here.
Calado, the British GP2 driver, got the feeling of an F1 car for the first time when he drove in the morning session. His fastest lap time came in 1:33.986, which was fourth best of the day.

“Getting to drive a Formula One car was a lifetime ambition and even coming to the track this morning was quite emotional. It was a completely different experience from what I am used to in GP2 but it took only a few laps to get a hold of it,” 24-year-old Calado said.

“I was able to set some sensible lap times and to give quite accurate feedback on the tyres within ten laps, which was quicker than I expected. I am here to do the best job possible and hopefully we will learn a few things from my work that can help Paul and Adrian in the rest of the season.”

Paul took over the testing duties in the afternoon session and added 59 laps to 27 of Calado. He briefly held the quickest lap time of the day – a 1m 33.774s on soft tyres – only to see his effort eclipsed by McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, who topped the charts at the end of the day.

“The focus of the test is to help Pirelli get all the data necessary to understand the new tyres. It is very early days and we’ve only just started the programme so it’s hard to say too much,” the Scot said.

“The conditions here are perfect for what Pirelli want to do, especially so soon after the Silverstone race. This is the ideal venue for them to learn as much as they can,” he said.

Source: Firstpost.com
 

Paul Di Resta says Force India will bounce back in Hungary after testing new tyres

Paul Di Resta is confident Force India will be back fighting in the top five in Hungary after finishing Day One of the Young Driver Test second quickest.

The Scot was a tenth shy of McLaren youngster Kevin Magnussen after completing 58 laps on Wednesday afternoon at Silverstone.

Aside from his retirement in Malaysia, the German GP was the first time Di Resta has failed to score points this season - something some pundits had put down to the interim Pirelli tyres used. However, after sampling the tyres that will be taken to the Hungaroring the 27-year-old is hopeful the Nurburgring will be a one-off.

"I certainly hope so," the Force India driver said.

"Germany was a bit of a disappointment as we have scored points at every race we have finished this year. We probably got slightly stuck in a bit of traffic which cost us at the end and to be a lap away from scoring was disappointing.

"But we will bounce back - I think we are a team that can react quite quickly. I think our car just didn't suit Germany and I hope that when we get back onto a more normal track we will see the signs of our car which have been strong and I have every faith that we can do that."

As for what he thought of the new tyres, Di Resta wasn't giving much away, but did add that he felt having race drivers present was of benefit to Pirelli.

"They are round, they have the same logos on the side...," he joked.

"We are here to aid Pirelli - they have a big say in our run plans and we need to make sure they are safe enough going forward and making sure they are sufficient enough and it is very restricted for the teams what a race driver can do.

"We are learning what we can but at the same time, it is more about learning for the future of Formula 1. In terms of reference, I think it is better to have us in the car as we had a race here a few weeks ago and we know where the cars limits are and know what the differences are."

Source: Skysports.com

Di Resta convinced of test benefits

Paul di Resta is convinced race drivers and their teams will benefit from running at Silverstone, despite several of the 2013 field not taking part in the test.


Drivers like McLaren's Jenson Button and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso had questioned the value of testing at Silverstone, as a strictly-defined Pirelli programme limits what they can do.

Only half of the current F1 field will take part in the test.

Di Resta, whose Force India team is one of four squads running both its race drivers at Silverstone, reckons racers have more to offer as they competed in the British Grand Prix just a few weeks ago.

"There's value in every time you run a Formula 1 car," said di Resta, who completed his half day of testing on Wednesday.

"I think in terms of reference it's probably better that we are in the car, because we had the race here not so long ago, so we know where the car limits are and know what the differences are.

"I'm always keen to get in the car, keen to get driving, keen to help the team.
"That's what I'm employed to do and to give the relevant feedback that I can."

The Scot admitted testing was useful even with the limited things a team can do.

"Pirelli and the FIA are well aware of what we are here to do," he said. "We are not here to balance the car out perfectly. 

"We are here to make sure we understand the tyres properly."

Source : Autosport.com

GermanGP Race - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (11th)
“It’s not been the easiest of weekends for us, but in the final part of the race it looked like we were on course to score some points. In the end we just ran out of tyres during the last couple of laps, but it was always going to be risky with our two-stop strategy, especially as we had to pit under the safety car. There were times in the race when the car was working well, but I really struggled with the first set of mediums and was not happy with the balance. Things improved quite a bit for the final stint, but by then we were out of position. It’s a bit gutting to miss out on points so we need to unleash our potential and get back to our usual form in Hungary.”
Adrian Sutil (13th)
“It turned out to be quite a disappointing race and for whatever reason we’ve just not had the pace this weekend. I struggled a lot with the tyres and had to convert from a two-stop race to a three-stop race, which was not our plan. I also lost some time at my final pit stop and after that the points were just too far away.”
Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It’s disappointing to end our run of points finishes, but Paul came very close to picking up the final point today. Ultimately his two-stop strategy wasn’t quite enough to fend off our competitors in the final few laps, but we came close to pulling it off. Adrian’s race was also decided by tyre wear because we had to switch him to a three-stop strategy mid-way through the race. Overall we were missing some performance and didn’t have the pace to make the strategy work. Both Paul and Adrian were unable to pass the Williams of Maldonado after the safety car, which compromised the strategy. With three weeks until the next race and a young driver test before that, we will work hard to ensure we can recapture the form we’ve shown earlier in the season.”

Source: Formula1.com

German GP Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (12th, Q2 - 1m 30.697s)
“It’s been quite a difficult couple of days trying to get the car in the right operating window and I’ve never felt totally comfortable. All the changes we’ve made have been a compromise and I’ve really struggled with the balance. Ahead of qualifying we completely changed the set-up to try to improve things and it certainly helped. For tomorrow we just have to hope that we can repeat the race pace we’ve shown earlier in the season because that has been one of our strengths.”

Adrian Sutil (15th, Q2 - 1m 31.010s)
“P15 for my home race is a bit disappointing. I had a technical issue with my DRS during Q2 and it was not working, which cost me about half a second per lap. That’s why P15 was all that was possible today. Otherwise I think I would have been very close to making Q3. We can fix the issue for tomorrow so we will be ready for the race. Apart from that our absolute pace has not been at our usual level and we’ve struggled to deliver the performance we showed at Silverstone. Tomorrow is a new day; we will push on and I believe points are still possible. ”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It’s difficult to determine if the change in tyre construction has hampered the team’s performance, but for whatever reason we’ve not found the sweet spot this weekend and that is reflected in our qualifying performance this afternoon. The changes made to Paul’s car ahead of qualifying were a step in the right direction and P12 was a good effort all things considered. Adrian has been happier with the balance, but was heavily compromised by a DRS issue, which made it impossible to reach Q3 today. It means we are further back on the grid than we’d like to be, but we remain optimistic that we can fight for points with both cars tomorrow.”

Source: Formula1.com

Gernam GP - Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:33.493, 11th; P2 - 1:31.797, 10th
“Quite a tricky session with lots to think about overnight. There’s room to improve the set-up because I’m not feeling as comfortable as I usually do. Tyre-wise we’ve done a lot of running across the two compounds to give us enough data to understand the impact of the new rear tyres. The two compounds are different extremes so we need to make sure we can get both in the right operating window.”
Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:32.822, 4th; P2 - 1:31.824, 11th
“It was quite a good day and the car looks competitive with a similar performance level compared to the last few races. We are back on the soft tyres here, which offer good grip but have very high degradation. They are nice to drive and will be a very good qualifying tyre, but long runs were quite difficult. The medium tyre performs well and is very consistent, so there is a good combination for the race.”
Jakob Andreasen, Force India chief engineer
“A very busy day for both cars, but it was a relief to finally have a completely dry Friday. We evaluated some aero items this morning and will look over the results to make sure we deploy our best parts tomorrow. The afternoon saw our usual tyre programme and it immediately became clear there was a big delta between the soft and medium tyres, which will make the strategy interesting for Sunday. The car performance is about where we expected it to be, but we do need to find some more pace ahead of qualifying. We have a few more items to deploy tomorrow, which should help optimise the car further. Overall I believe we are in good shape and I’m optimistic that we can be up there in the top ten with both cars tomorrow afternoon.”

Source : Formula1.com

Germany preview quotes - Force India

2011 Qualifying - 8th, 2011 Race - 6th 
“Racing in your home country is always special, even more so at a historical circuit like the Nurburgring. I spent a lot of time racing there during my early years, but only three times in Formula One. It's a track that requires a lot of different skills from the driver, with a technical first sector, a flowing middle part and a fast end to the lap. The layout can catch you out sometimes, especially on some kerbs - such as the final chicane.”

Paul di Resta, Force India
2011 Qualifying - 12th, 2011 Race - 13th
“It’s a very different track and not so demanding on the tyres compared to Silverstone. We should be competitive and if we can maximise all three days we will be in good shape. I’ve only raced at the Nurburgring once in Formula One a couple of years ago and I got hit going into the first corner so it would be good to put things right this weekend. I know the place well from my DTM days, although we always used to race on the shorter version. The weather is always a factor there because of the location and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some rain at some point. The track is a mix of everything, but it’s important to have good mechanical grip to perform well in the slower sections at the start and end of the lap.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“We are now 22 points ahead of McLaren: they are on 37, and we have 59. It’s all very well to say we are widening the gap, but McLaren is such a formidable team, with such a fantastic track record, they can wipe out that entire gap by winning just one race. I would not take it for granted that we will hang on to fifth, but we will make every attempt. We expect to carry our form into this weekend. In the last few races we’ve seen our speed and we’ve managed to get Paul in the points on three occasions from the back of the grid. It’s a home race for Adrian, a track he enjoys, and we will go there determined to continue our run of finishes with two cars in the points.”

Source : Formula1.com

Force India hope to keep McLaren behind them

Force India are beginning to believe they could finish the Formula One season ahead of McLaren after adding more points to their tally at Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

The Silverstone-based team, who operate on a far smaller budget than the sport’s second most successful team in terms of race wins, now have 59 points to McLaren’s 37 after eight of the season’s 19 races.

Force India had both their cars in the points at a controversial Silverstone race punctuated by tyre failures, with German driver Adrian Sutil seventh and Britain’s Paul Di Resta ninth, while McLaren drew a blank for the second race in a row.

“We have a gap of 22 points…all they need is one race win and that will wipe out the entire deficit,” Mallya told reporters.
 
“So I am going to be cautiously optimistic while saying that I want to remain ahead of McLaren and hang on to fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
“If we keep scoring points and they don’t come up with something dramatic like a race win, we should be able to keep our nose ahead of them,” added the Indian liquor baron.

McLaren have not finished higher than fifth so far this season and are struggling to get their car up to speed after ending last year with Jenson Button winning in Brazil.

With major rule changes and a new V6 engine coming next year, McLaren have already started switching resources to making sure the 2014 car is competitive from the outset.

“We are at a point where we’ve got to ensure that we are in a competitive situation next year so we are also now earlier than usual putting a lot more resource and effort on to next year’s programme,” McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh said at the weekend.

McLaren’s Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, backed the approach.
“We will still be developing the car but I think it’s great that we’ve got more people working on next year’s car,” he told reporters.

“Our main aim is to win the world championship and that is something we cannot do this year…so I think it’s a good idea that we are concentrating a little but more on next year.”

Mallya said that change of focus could play to Force India’s advantage.
“If McLaren are not focusing on developing this car further, and we are doing what we are doing and continue to do, then there is no reason why we should not keep our nose ahead.

“If they want to focus on the 2014 car then that gives everybody a chance.”

Source: Firstpost.com (Reuters)   

Di Resta focused on his own reputation

Paul di Resta says all he can do to get himself into contention for one of the top-team Formula 1 drives potentially available in 2014 is to keep impressing at Force India.
 
Mark Webber's decision to leave F1 for Porsche's sportscar programme means champion team Red Bull has a seat open next year.

With Kimi Raikkonen among the Red Bull contenders and Romain Grosjean's future uncertain, Lotus could have two vacancies for 2014, while Felipe Massa's current Ferrari deal is up at the end of this season.

So far di Resta has not been strongly mentioned among the candidates for any of the frontrunning seats.

"There's nothing I can do," he said when asked if this frustrated him.

"It is what it is. I'm only trying to do what I can do.

"I've built my reputation in Formula 1. I want to be in a winning seat, but it's [down to] people's board's decisions.

"I've still got a lot of races with Force India this year, and when it's exciting like it was at Silverstone, I'll keep concentrating on that and let other people do the work in the background.

"Where I am next year I don't know, but there are many points up for grabs. That is the important bit, keeping your reputation."

Di Resta qualified fifth for the British Grand Prix last weekend but was put to the back for a weight infringement. He recovered from there to ninth.
Earlier this season he came close to his maiden F1 podium at the Bahrain GP. 

The Scot is currently eighth in the world championship.

Source: Autosport.com

British GP- Force India driver quotes

Adrian Sutil (7th)
“The start of the race was looking very good because we were always planning a two-stop strategy and I was up into fourth on lap one. It was a challenge to look after the tyres and keep them going, but the main problem for me was the second safety car because the cars around me chose to pit. I stayed out and was third at the restart, but the cars behind with fresh rubber had a big advantage and were able to overtake me quite easily in the final few laps. It’s disappointing to slip back so close to the finish, but seventh place gives us some good points so we can be happy with the result.”
Paul di Resta (9th)
“That wasn’t the cleanest of races for me, but given everything that’s happened this weekend I think we can feel satisfied with two points today. It was a bit of a scruffy race because I lost my front wing trying to get ahead of Nico [Hulkenberg], so we chose to change it when the safety car came out, which probably cost me a couple of positions. Towards the end of the race I had fresh tyres, and was closing in on Ricciardo, but I ran out of laps and he was just out of reach. So a weekend of highs and lows, but it’s definitely good to continue our points run and have another double points finish for the team.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“Before the race we set the target of getting two cars home in the points, so I’m pleased that we managed to achieve this objective. It means we’ve scored points at the last six events. Adrian’s race was very strong and for a while it looked like we might be challenging for a podium. However, the two safety car periods kept the pack close together and limited the benefits of his two-stop strategy. Paul’s race was very busy, but once again he battled his way through to the points and showed the speed of the car. With eight points scored today we continue to strengthen our hold on fifth place in the championship and head to Germany determined to keep the momentum going.”

Source: Formula1.com