Force India stops developing 2013 car

Force India has stopped developing its 2013 car, German driver Adrian Sutil has revealed.

The team was surprised this season to find itself in a battle for fifth in the constructors’ championship with struggling grandee McLaren.

But the switch from Pirelli’s steel to kevlar-belted tyres has worked very much against Force India, while McLaren has made progress with its uncompetitive MP4-28.

"Maybe we can find a way to solve the problems," Sutil told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport on Tuesday.

At the Silverstone factory, however, Force India is now fully concentrated on the huge challenge of the radical new 2014 rules.

"There is nothing new planned for this year," Sutil said.

"But sometimes you can gain just by optimising the package you have," he said. "You can find a lot of time when all you can do is make better use of what you have."

Source : motorsport.nextgen-auto.com

Belgium GP - ForceIndia Drivers quotes

Adrian Sutil, 9th
“An interesting and exciting race, and it’s good to come away with two points. At the start I didn’t make the best getaway and lost a few places, but after that I settled into the race and was able to get ahead of a few cars and move into the top ten. I always enjoy driving here at Spa and I had some exciting overtaking moves today, which felt very nice. The two-stop strategy was the best way to go and it worked out well because I think we achieved the maximum that was available to us. We are still in a close fight with McLaren so it was important to get back in the points today after a couple of tough races.”

Paul di Resta, DNF
“I got a lot of wheel-spin at the start of the race and was down in about tenth place going into turn one, but during the first lap I managed to recover to seventh. After the second pit stop I was racing closely with Adrian and there was a train of four cars battling as we went into the final chicane. Pastor [Maldonado] went in deep and missed the apex so I tried to get the cut-back and was going around the outside of him. He then decided to try and enter the pit lane, which was impossible given his track position. As a result he hit me, which took the rear corner off my car. It’s a real shame because the speed was quite strong today and I think there was definitely a point or two up for grabs.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“I’m pleased to see Sahara Force India back in the points after a fine performance by Adrian. He clearly enjoyed himself out there today and his overtaking moves were a highlight of the race. The strategy calls from the pit wall helped him stay in the hunt for points and his race pace was good. The incident with Maldonado hitting Paul was very disappointing because Paul was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It certainly cost us the chance to get both cars in the points. Going forward we will take the positives from the weekend and look to build on this performance level in a couple of weeks’ time in Monza.”

Source: F1.com

Paul di Resta not ruing lost pole after 'ballsy' effort

Paul di Resta saw no reason to be disappointed about missing out on a maiden pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix after a 'ballsy' strategy call nearly came off.

The Force India driver was the only man in Q3 not to attempt a lap on slicks - with his early run on intermediates handing him a slight track advantage.

But although holding the top spot for much of the session, he was forced to see his Red Bull and Mercedes rivals pip him at the end when the circuit dried out slightly.

Di Resta admitted that he had briefly allowed himself to believe he could be on course for pole, but equally reckoned that his eventual fifth spot was better than he would have managed if he had not tried something different.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if he believed at any point that pole position could be his, di Resta said: "A small glimpse I suppose based on where the weather was.

"When I came in it was still raining, but unfortunately the shower caught me in the last sector when I was on my lap, and then it cleared the track. The intensity wasn't enough for what we thought.

"It was a ballsy decision and it was basically me who did it. The team said they wanted to go out on slicks like everybody else, but I said: 'no let's do something different. Look at the screens, people are putting umbrellas up.'

"When I got out there, the first sector I thought might be risky, but as soon as we got to sector three I knew the best chance I had to do anything was then.

"And to be fair, we had the best conditions and ended up P5. If we went out at the end, there was no way we would have been there."

Di Resta reckoned that Force India's strong straightline speed at Spa - which is useful for the first and final sectors – meant he could set his sights on a good haul of points in the race.
However, he doubted he had the machinery to be able to think about moving up the order.

"I think it is unrealistic," he said. "It is more about staying in position and losing as little ground as possible.
"The car, four or five races ago, I would have said maybe think about that. But where we have been recently, you have to take it lap by lap and run it as best as you can."

Source : Autosport.com
 

Belgium GP Qualification : Force India Drivers Quote

Paul di Resta (5th, Q3 - 2m 02.332s)
“Fifth place on the grid is a great result. At the start of Q3 I knew that I wanted to go straight out on the intermediates. It was a brave decision and the team let me go ahead with it, while the others chose dry tyres. I knew it was our best chance to get up towards the front of the grid and it paid off. It’s a shame that the rain stopped a bit too early because there were only a few cars that were quicker than us in the wet and they just got ahead at the end of the session. The main thing is we are in a strong position for tomorrow and we will come back tomorrow ready to fight.”

Adrian Sutil (12th, Q2 - 1m 49.103s)
“I’m feeling disappointed with how things ended up today because I think we had the potential to get a better result. In Q2 I was on my final flying lap a bit too early and the track was getting quicker all the time. So we should have waited a bit longer and I think that would have made the difference to make the top ten. Also, I had some traffic on my fastest lap and that cost me some time.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“As soon as it started raining before qualifying we knew that it was likely to be an unpredictable qualifying session. The track conditions were constantly changing from wet to dry and it was vital to be on track at the right time on the right tyres. With Paul we judged this pretty much to perfection and for a while we were looking good for a front row start. But the rain eased up and he dropped down to fifth, which is still an excellent result. Adrian looked competitive in Q2 but we didn’t maximise our time on the drying track and he missed out on Q3. The big question mark for tomorrow is the weather. We’ve looked more competitive in the dry, but whatever the conditions we will push hard to come away with a strong result.”

Source : Formula1.com

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:55.224, 2nd; P2 - 1:50.611, 10th
“Conditions were mixed this morning, but it was much better this afternoon. It’s safe to say that we seem to be further forward compared to where we were in Budapest and we always thought the car would be more suited to this track. At the moment it looks like we are in the mix for making the top ten, but we need to carry a bit more speed into qualifying. We know that the rain might come tomorrow, so we have to be ready to maximise the conditions.”

Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:55.373, 3rd; P2 - 1:50.629, 11th
“Quite an interesting day getting back in the car for the first time in almost a month. We were near the top of the times this morning in the damp session, but I had some balance issues to solve with the car so we made quite a few adjustments for this afternoon. When the sun came out the track conditions were very different so we tried some different downforce levels and need to choose the best approach for tomorrow. For the final few laps of the afternoon we made some progress and got the car closer to where we want it to be.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It’s been a fairly promising start for us with plenty of running for Adrian and Paul, especially in the afternoon session. The programmes went to plan, giving us plenty to think about tonight, and we have as much data as anybody on the tyres. There’s still some way to go to find the ideal balance with both cars and that’s the main task facing us tonight. The big question for the weekend is what the weather will do because there’s a good chance the rain will arrive just before qualifying. That would certainly make things interesting so we need to be ready to react quickly and be on track at the right time.”

Source : formula1.com

Belgium preview quotes - Force India

Paul di Resta, Force India
2012 Qualifying -10th, 2012 Race - 10th
“(The summer break) was very good! I had the chance to put in a bit of training, relax and spend time with my family and friends at home. It was important to make sure I come back stronger for this second part of the season. It’s going to be a very important period and I wanted to make sure I can face it in the best condition and with my batteries fully charged.

“We need to get the car working for us like before. In Budapest it was difficult to drive, but sometimes you get those tough weekends. Since then we have regrouped and analysed the previous races properly and hopefully this weekend will be a fresh start. We usually do well in Belgium and everyone is determined to get back to the situation we had at the start of the year when we seemed to be punching above our weight.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2012 Qualifying - n/a, 2012 Race - n/a
“I think Spa is the favourite for most drivers. It’s a real pleasure to drive there and I’ve had some good results. The high-speed corners are a really nice challenge and there are lots of overtaking opportunities. Plus, there is always the unknown of the weather and a good chance of rain.
“It is important we regain the speed we showed earlier in the year. We are going towards some tracks that should suit our car better and it’s important that we get back to scoring points at every race. I am ready to do my part by taking the opportunities when they appear and helping the team move forward. I have good memories of Spa and I would like to add some more.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“Spa is a track that we love! As I have said, the car has to be competitive on all tracks, but if I concede that Hungary was not ideally suited to us, by the same token Spa and Monza have traditionally been our stronger tracks. So that gives me a little bit of a morale boost in saying that once we are on top of the game, we should restore our competitive position.”

Source: F1.com
 

Force India can master tyres - Mallya

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya is confident his team can overcome any disadvantage caused by the change to Formula 1's control tyres.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Force India appeared to be the team worst hit by the change of tyre specifications, introduced in response to a spate of failures in the British Grand Prix.

But Mallya hopes that the same qualities that allowed the team to make best use of the previous tyres will help it to recover.

"We invested in understanding tyres, which hopefully is going to overcome any potential disadvantages," he told AUTOSPORT.

"The [old] tyres did us no favours, we just understood the tyres better.

"When we realised how big a role the tyres would play, we hired one of the best tyre engineers from Bridgestone and supplemented him with one more [later]."

Mallya also warned that F1 must be careful to avoid a repeat of the situation whereby control tyres had to be changed mid-season.
While he accepts something needed to be done to combat the problems seen at Silverstone, he stressed the need for F1 to offer a level playing field to all teams.

"There has to be consistency," he told AUTOSPORT. "Change adds a lot of cost and additional work in understanding the tyres, redesign etc.

"I'm not suggesting what happened, with tyres delaminating, is the best scene for F1 but having said that, everybody has a level playing field."

AUTOSPORT SAYS
F1 editor Edd Straw, @EddStrawF1
There were always going to be winners and losers from Pirelli's understandable decision to change its tyres to a combination of 2013 compounds and '12 construction.

The data from the Hungarian GP weekend is insufficient to draw any definitive conclusions, especially in the case of Force India as the Hungaroring has been far from a happy hunting ground for it over the years.

But it's safe to conclude that Force India has not been helped by the change in rubber, which must be frustrating given the work it has put into it - work that intensified after the team found a massive time improvement on a one-off basis at last year's May Mugello test just because it stumbled into the optimum tyre operating window.


Force India is now only two points ahead of McLaren in the battle for fifth in the constructors' championship, having lost 20 points of its advantage in the past two races - both weekends when the Pirelli rubber has changed.

It would be wrong to say that is entirely down to the change of tyres, not least because McLaren has shown signs of finally getting to grips with its car. But it is very likely a factor.

No wonder Force India was among the teams not keen to change the tyres earlier in the season before the sport entered crisis mode at Silverstone.
The key now is to consolidate and try to re-emerge as a team capable of claiming top six finishes.

If it doesn't, Mallya and his team might have good reason to curse their ill luck having hit the tyre management sweet spot previously.

Source: Autosport.com

Midseason Report: Grading Force India's Paul di Resta

 

Make no mistake about it, 2013 is a massive season for Scotsman Paul di Resta as he enters his third full season as a Formula One driver.

Di Resta made a massive impression in his debut season alongside Adrian Sutil, finishing in the points on eight separate occasions. It led David Coulthard to tip his countryman to become one of the top drivers in the sport in an interview with The Sun (subscription required).

But as Sutil was forced to miss the season after a conviction for causing grievous bodily harm to Lotus shareholder Eric Lux, Di Resta was expected to carry the mantle in 2012. New teammate Nico Hulkenberg refused to read the script, however, and outpointed Di Resta before moving onto Sauber.

So here we are, Di Resta and Sutil reunited for 2013. And the pressure is on with Sutil just 13 points behind and Di Resta telling Sky Sports the car was the worst it had felt all year after Hungary qualifying.

Sutil laid down the challenge in Australia when he led a Grand Prix for the first time before finishing a place ahead of Di Resta in seventh. It was a good start for both drivers, but it quickly turned into a catastrophe in Malaysia after the German followed Di Resta into retirement as a precaution due to problems with the captive wheel nut system.

Di Resta enjoyed the stronger race in China, fighting his way from 11th to eighth by the finish as Esteban Gutierrez punted Sutil out of the race, but his standout drive of the season came in Bahrain when he looked set for a first podium until Romain Grosjean hunted him down on fresher tyres to pass with just five laps remaining.

Afterward, the Scot told BBC Sport that it had been his best ever race:

 

Di Resta was delighted with fourth in Bahrain

That was probably my strongest Grand Prix.
The podium was very close, but with our strategy we were always going to be vulnerable, 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.

Di Resta backed up his strong Bahrain outing with seventh in Spain and was tucked up behind pole-sitter Nico Rosberg’s gearbox at the finish, with less than a second separating the scrapping pair. But things were about to take a turn for the worse.

Qualifying quandaries
A disastrous qualifying in Monaco saw Di Resta line up 17th on the grid, but he was aided by a number of retirements to again make it into the points albeit four places behind his teammate. It would be a sign of things to come.
A third seventh-place finish in Canada was all the more impressive given that he again started at 17th on the grid due to gearbox software issues during qualifying before carving his way through the field. Relationships had been strained between the Scot and his team on Saturday when he blamed his team’s performance as "unacceptable" in an interview with BBC Sport. But a day later a somewhat calmer Di Resta told the same broadcaster that his strong race had helped to build bridges.

Di Resta's fury after Canada qualifying turned to relief after a strong raceIt was taken constructively. Everybody in the team felt the same.But we regrouped, showed we can do it and, as far as my relationship with the team is concerned, it's still good.

The person who made the mistake apologised and I'm fully supportive of that. It's just unfortunate it happened two weeks in a row, which is where the anger was.Looking back, I don't think I was too harsh. When you work with the team so closely, it's good to have that heat because you need to show your emotion.
If I'd twice made a mistake, I'd be kicking myself and the team would come down hard on me - and rightly so.

Unbelievably, lightning struck for the third race in succession during qualifying for his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. Di Resta had expressed himself as “over the moon” in his now familiar post-session interview with BBC Sport having qualified fifth before being excluded for having an underweight car.
This time the Scot vented his fury on the race track, carving his way through to seventh.
It would be his final points finish of the first half of the season, 11th- and 18th-place finishes in Germany and Hungary leaving him 10th in the drivers’ standings, three behind McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Di Resta was happy with ninth in Britain after another qualifying nightmare

Paul’s midseason marks
Temperament: 6/10
Qualifying: 6/10
Race craft: 8/10
Summary: Spectacularly lost his cool with his team in Canada and but for three qualifying horror shows he could have been much higher up the table. Strong race showings in adversity have shown exactly what a good racer he is.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com

Exclusive Adrian Sutil Q&A: I want to get back to scoring points

Adrian Sutil may have spent 2012 on the sidelines, but he started the 2013 season as if he’d never been away, taking his Force India to a strong seventh place finish in Australia. The 30-year-old German has scored points on three other occasions since then, but found himself outside of the top ten in both Germany and Hungary - something he’s determined to make amends for when the second half of the season gets underway in Belgium in less than two weeks’ time…

Q: Adrian, there’s a lot of talk at the moment about who might move where in the driver market. You’ve stayed remarkably quiet. Do you know something that we don’t?
Adrian Sutil: To be honest, I‘m focused on now and on the next races. There are so many rumours flying around, but my guess is that nobody really knows what’s going on behind closed doors. Formula One is a complicated sport where a lot of aspects have to be taken into account before decisions are made - and sometimes these decisions are quite surprising! (laughs)
Q: You seem to have justified the faith Force India showed by giving you a race seat in 2013. How much of a desire is there on your part to stay where you are?
AS: If I do my job well and they are happy, there will be good possibilities to stay. Sahara Force India will be the first team we talk with about the 2014 season.
Q: It is every driver’s desire to move to the very top. If you could make a wish that comes true, where would you want to go?
AS: Every driver has the goal to win races and to fight for the championship. If you don’t have that burning desire you’re in the wrong place. But, of course, you need the right car to fight for wins. So naturally the best car is what I want to be in. So unsurprisingly Ferrari and Mercedes are F1 teams that I like very much. But I guess that answer doesn’t really come as a surprise…
Q: Why?
AS: Both are very big, iconic brands and have a long tradition in Formula One racing.
Q: How sure are you that you’ll stay in F1? Do you have a ‘plan B’ in the back of your head?
AS: No plan B. My one and only plan is to have a long and successful career in F1!
Q: Your team mate, Paul di Resta, has said that the team has let things slip in the last couple of races - how do you see that?
AS: All of us, the drivers and the team, should push very hard to be successful. We had a very strong start to the season, but for the last few races it’s much closer in the midfield so the tension is up. But there should be some circuits in the second half where we can be strong again.
Q: Force India have had small slumps in the past, but then picked up when the calendar moves to circuits that have suited the car better, such as Spa and Monza. How likely is that to happen again this year?
AS: Well, we have to see how much the others will improve over the next weeks, but yes, my hope is that the next circuits will make things easier again for us. It’s a nice and cozy feeling to be a permanent point-scorer so we want to get back there!
Q: What have you been doing so far in the summer break and what do you have planned for the remaining time you have off? Will you be relaxing?
AS: I had a very nice fitness week in Finland with my coach. The rest of the time I will stay at ‘home, sweet home’ and relax. I’ll be doing normal things that you hardly have time to do when you’re permanently travelling, like going to the movies or doing the couch-potato thing in front of the TV. Or I’ll play the piano.
Q: The next stop on the calendar is Spa, a track where Force India had its moments of glory in the past. Are you expecting something similar in two weeks’ time?
AS: Yes, I’m convinced we will be strong in Spa. I like the circuit very much. It’s a really challenging one - a racers track! So watch out for us!

Source: Formula1.com

Di Resta admits Force India has slipped

Paul di Resta believes his Force India team has "let things slip" in the last few races and needs to raise its game after the summer break.

Force India was among the strongest teams behind the frontrunners in the early part of the season, but failed to score a point in the last two races in Germany and Hungary.

That has allowed McLaren to close right up in the constructors' standings, with the British team now just two points behind in sixth position.

Both di Resta and team-mate Adrian Sutil were hit by hydraulic issues in the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

The Scot admitted things have not been going as well as they should.

"I trust the team will have a lot of ideas as we go into the summer break," said di Resta.

"I think they have done a great job up until now, but we've let things slip slightly as a team in the last couple of grands prix.

"They're good guys and I believe they can work their way and come up with a solution."

The Force India driver is hopeful Force India will be stronger at Spa, which he expects to suit his car better.

"The track [the Hungaroring] didn't suit us; hopefully when we get to Spa with our lower downforce it will suit us," he added.

"We need to be doing a better job towards the end of the year and we'll try and do that as a unit."

Source: Autosport.com

Mallya: Force India will fight

Vijay Mallya has called on Force India to get a better understanding of Pirelli's new tyres so they can fight McLaren when F1 reconvenes in Belgium after the summer break.

The Silverstone-based team's recent slump continued in Hungary, where they failed to score points for the second time in as many races. In the event, Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil retired after their cars both suffered hydraulic problems but, as was the case in Germany, they had failed to show the sort of pace they previously managed.

In contrast, McLaren picked up a double points finish for the second straight race and have closed to within two points of Force India and fifth place in the constructors' standings.

Having made their best-ever start to a season, Mallya admitted that his team have been thrown off-kilter by the revised tyre construction, which was made for safety reasons after the series of blowouts at the British GP in June.

"We've spent a lot of time, energy and resource understanding these tyres, which have played a very important part this whole season," Mallya said after the Hungarian GP.


"We obviously were on top of it, because that is reflected in our performance. Halfway through, we're still ahead of McLaren, we're still fifth in the constructors'. That's because of our performance in the first half and the points we've scored.

"The trouble in Germany as well as here, after the change in the tyres, is because the drivers have not been as comfortable. In Budapest, particularly Paul has been uncomfortable with the tyres all weekend; it has shown in his performance and his timing.

"Adrian, on the other hand, has got the tyres to work for him. He qualified in 11th spot and would have made Q3 by 0.02s [less lap time] - which is unlucky, but it happens. It was by the smallest of margins.

"The way he was running [in the race], had he not suffered that unfortunate hydraulic failure, I would have predicted that he would have finished in the points.

"It's not right to admonish the car. The car is fine. It's just that the tyre change needs better understanding. It's working for Adrian at times and not working for Paul. We need to just smooth this out, get a better understanding of the tyres and move forward."

Source: http://web.orange.co.uk

Di Resta: We have to regroup

Paul di Resta insists that Force India must work to regroup over the summer break on the back of a disappointing weekend in Hungary.

For the second successive race, the Sahara-backed team failed to score after the Scot and team-mate Adrian Sutil were both sidelined by hydraulics problems.

It capped a disappointing end to the first half a season that had promised much for the Silverstone-based team and while it stays ahead of McLaren in the standings, its advantage has been cut down to two points.

Speaking to the Press Association, di Resta admitted that Force India now need to regroup during the summer break to come back stronger at Spa.

"It's at the end of the race where you need to be scoring points, but that race didn't allow us in any way to fight the people we should have been," he said of the Hungarian event. "We need to get some rest. But equally we need to get ourselves together because over the last few weekends we've missed some opportunities and other people have overtaken us.

"We've some work to do, but I've faith in the team everyone will be working hard when we return because when this unit works together you can see it rewards us in great ways.

"We need to get the car working in the zone it works in. In Hungary it was very much on edge, difficult to drive. You get weekends like that. Maybe the tracks haven't suited us, but we can't really single that out.

"We have to regroup, analyse properly and get to the next grand prix when hopefully it will be a fresh start like at the beginning of the year when we seemed to be punching way above our weight."

Di Resta added that it was important for the team to make sure that the hard work that has gone into the season already isn't allowed to go to waste.

“I don't want to let this championship slip away," he said. "We started off excellently, and there is no reason why we can't recapture that form."

Source : Crash.net