Hulkenberg and Perez for Force India in 2014?

Nico Hulkenberg physically signed on the dotted line of a 2014 Force India contract in Brazil on Sunday.

That is the claim of Germany's reliable Sport Bild, as it emerged that the German had until midnight to take up an option granted recently by the Silverstone based team, for whom Hulkenberg raced last year.

The 26-year-old had joined Sauber for 2013 after Force India became late in its payments, but it was the Swiss team that found itself in the deeper financial trouble this year.

So, in a sure sign that Lotus' 'Quantum' investment deal will ultimately collapse, Hulkenberg opts for Force India, who according to Sport Bild have included a bank guarantee of EUR 1.9 million to cover the unpaid wages of 2012.

It is believed Hulkenberg's teammate next year will not be countryman Adrian Sutil, despite that German hinting repeatedly in recent weeks that his is a done deal.

In fact, it is understood the experienced Sutil is taking his Medion sponsorship to Sauber.

Force India's other 2013 driver, Paul di Resta, is almost certainly leaving F1.

"People are saying it's not budget related," the Scot told BBC's radio Five Liv, 

"but there are things which are. I go into the winter with my head held high."
It seems Force India will head into 2014 with an all-new driver lineup, completed by the McLaren refugee Sergio Perez, who is bringing a reported EUR 15 million in sponsorship, having patched up his relationship with Telmex.
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh, having dropped Mexican Perez at the eleventh hour, has hinted he helped to broker the deal.

"I am very happy," Whitmarsh is quoted by the Guardian. "Lots of stuff has been written but he's a young man who has been incredibly dignified.

"He is very much liked in the team, is a thoroughly likeable guy and I said to him: 'Prove us wrong'.

"We've done what we can to help him out and he certainly deserves to be in formula one, so I'm delighted for him that we'll see his smiling face in the paddock."

Whitmarsh admitted it is bittersweet that, in helping Perez, fellow Briton di Resta is apparently being pushed out of F1.

"It's a complicated sport these days and there are drivers with less talent than Paul who will be in the sport, and that's sad," he said.
The obvious conclusion of all the latest 'silly season' goings-on is that Pastor Maldonado, the most powerfully sponsored driver on the market, is taking his PDVSA millions to Lotus to fill the Quantum hole.

F1 correspondent Heikki Kulta, of Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, expects the news to be announced early this week.

Alongside Sutil, the likely occupant of the other Sauber is less clear, as team boss Monisha Kaltenborn on Sunday refused to "speculate" about the future of Mexican Esteban Gutierrez.

It appears she was waiting for midnight, and the expiry of Hulkenberg's Force India option. Also waiting in the wings is the Russian teenager Sergey Sirotkin.

"My sources tell me that Sauber is still waiting for Hulkenberg," former long-time Sauber driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was also managed by Hulkenberg's agent Werner Heinz, told German television Sky.

Source : Grandprix.com

Force India pleased to be “best non-manufacturer team”

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley says securing sixth place in the constructors’ championship proves Force India are the “best non-manufacturer team” in F1.

The team secured sixth in the championship despite coming under pressure from Sauber in the closing stages of the season.

“Although we missed out on points today, we achieved the objective that we set ourselves coming into the weekend to defend our sixth place in the championship,” said Fernley after yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

“In the end we did that quite comfortably, which is a real credit to everybody at Sahara Force India. It means we’ve finished in the top six twice in the last three seasons, consolidating our reputation as being the best non-manufacturer team.”

Force India ended the year with 77 points which was 32 less than they scored last year when they finished seventh in the championship.

“Looking back on the season as a whole I think we can be proud of our performance,” said Fernley. “The start of the year was exceptional and we recaptured our form in the final few races.”

Force India were one of the teams that were hardest hit by the mid-season change in tire construction. Having amassed 59 points in the opening eight races they only added 18 more over the last 11 rounds.

Source: http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com 

Brazilan Race - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, 11th
“The light rain made for quite a tricky race, but it was also enjoyable with lots of overtaking. Losing six places off the line with too much wheelspin was a key moment and really put us on the backfoot, but the performance of the car in the race was consistent and we achieved the two-stop race. We chose to extend each stint but I struggled for performance on the hard tyre at the end and I wasn’t able to challenge Ricciardo for the final point. However, I think we can go away from here quite satisfied with what we achieved today and with the year as a whole. Although I missed out on a top ten position in the championship, it’s been a successful season, an incredible journey and I want to say a massive thanks to the team for the job they’ve done this year.”

Adrian Sutil, 13th
“It was quite a challenging final race and I was really hoping for some points, but it just wasn’t possible today. It was drizzling with rain for most of the race, but I felt quite sure the track was going to stay mostly dry. The main issue for me was the tyre wear because we had to stop three times and that made it hard to race for points. In the final laps I was catching the train of cars ahead of me, but I didn’t get close enough to change my position. It’s been an up and down season, but I will remember the positives and the fact the team is once again in sixth place in the championship, which is a great effort by everybody.”

Robert Fernley, Force India team deputy team principal
“Although we missed out on points today, we achieved the objective that we set ourselves coming into the weekend to defend our sixth place in the championship. In the end we did that quite comfortably, which is a real credit to everybody at Sahara Force India. It means we’ve finished in the top six twice in the last three seasons, consolidating our reputation as being the best non-manufacturer team. I thought Paul and Adrian both drove well today, although the ground Paul lost at the start proved quite costly. His race pace was good on the two-stop strategy, but the final point was out of reach. Adrian suffered more with tyre wear and had to stop three times. Looking back on the season as a whole I think we can be proud of our performance. The start of the year was exceptional and we recaptured our form in the final few races. We look forward to the challenge of 2014 and will come back 
determined to pick up where we left off.”

Source : Formula1.com

Brazilan Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (12th, Q2 - 1m 27.798s)
“The wet conditions have made for a very difficult weekend so far and I was only able to complete very limited running in the build-up to qualifying. So we’ve pretty much stuck with the set-up we decided on before coming here, which will hopefully help us tomorrow if the conditions improve and we get a dry track. If it is dry there will be a lot of unknowns, especially with the tyres on a green track, and there’s the possibility that we can take advantage of that. If it’s wet then we are in a good position to race for points because our performance in the wet this weekend has been a step forward compared with earlier in the year. We will keep pushing and hopefully tomorrow we will be smiling after the race.”

Adrian Sutil (16th, Q2 - 1m 28.586s)
“A very tricky session and the best conditions were right at the start of Q1. After that the conditions gradually became worse and worse for everyone. So in Q2 there was only one real opportunity to set your time, which was at the start of the session. I stayed out to see if the rain eased off, but when Perez had his accident the yellow flags came out so I pitted. The main issue was the lack of grip and I didn’t have the confidence to really push. It looks like I will start P16 tomorrow, but we know it’s a long race and it’s uncertain what the weather will do. The races here in Brazil can be very unusual and unpredictable so we never give up and will keep pushing until the last lap.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“The wet weather continued today with conditions getting gradually worse as the qualifying hour unfolded. We judged Q1 pretty well with Paul and Adrian completing solid laps on the intermediates before the rain became heavier. It was a similar situation in Q2 with the rain continuing to fall. We sent both cars out as soon as the lights went green and Paul ended up just three tenths away from making Q3. Adrian was struggling slightly more and didn’t have the confidence as the track got wetter. There’s still a big question mark about the weather tomorrow and I think we can expect another unpredictable race whatever happens. The priority is to make sure we keep out of trouble and do what we need to secure our position in the Constructors’ championship.”

Source : Formula1.com

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, P2 - 1:29.174, 13th
“After missing the morning session I did my best to get up to speed quickly with the wet track. The balance on the intermediates is not too bad and I think we know the areas we need to improve tonight. So it looks like we are in reasonable shape and the car appears to be working better in the wet conditions compared with earlier in the season. I didn’t get the opportunity to complete the ideal lap this afternoon so I think there is more time to come from the car tomorrow.”

Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:27.115, 15th; P2 - 1:29.783, 15th
“We tried a lot this morning and I was one of the cars to do the most laps. We ran through some different options with the set up to try and improve our performance in the wet. I spent most of the morning on the intermediate tyres and stayed on the same set for the afternoon to make sure I have some new sets available for qualifying and the race. After such a busy morning we didn’t run so much this afternoon and my performance was compromised by using the old tyres. So I think it’s fair to say that my lap time in FP2 is not that representative. The most important thing was to understand how the tyres work in the wet.”

James Calado, P1 - 1:27.436, 18th
“It was my first experience of driving a Formula One car in the rain and the conditions were quite difficult. It was important not to take any risks so I held back a little bit, but I was reasonably happy with my pace and ended up just three tenths away from Adrian. I only managed nine laps, but that was enough to give the team some data and give me experience of the damp track conditions. It was also my first time at Interlagos and my initial impressions are positive. It’s quite high speed with some fast and flowing sections, and it’s also quite a technical lap.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“A damp day at Interlagos saw us run a reduced programme with both cars on the wet and intermediate tyres. With no dry track time it means we missed the opportunity to sample the 2014 development tyres, which is a shame. With the wet weather likely to continue over the weekend, the drivers simply focused on trying to understand the tyres and improving the drivability of the car in the wet conditions. Adrian’s morning programme was quite extensive and he ran through a lot of different options, which will help us with our decision making overnight.”

Source : Formula1.com

Sutil hints 2014 Force India deal done

 

Adrian Sutil looks set to remain at Force India next year after revealing on Thursday that he had signed a deal for the 2014 Formula 1 season.

 

Although the German drew short of confirming exactly where he will be driving, he made it clear ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix that his plans were sorted. 

"Yes I know where I will be," he said. "There is a signature somewhere - but it is a team policy that I don't talk about it. 

"But I am quite happy. It was always my decision where I signed or didn't sign - and that is why I feel good." 

Although he was careful not to confirm his Force India plans, he did explain that he had only kept a watching brief on options elsewhere rather than actively pursue anything. 

"I always look of course," he said. "It depends on the situation, sometimes you have contracts and it doesn't mean a lot. 

"There is so much going on at the moment as well, so I looked at it from the outside. But for me it is maybe a different situation to other drivers. Life goes on and I am a happy man." 

Sutil also said he was happy to be remaining with Mercedes power next year, amid speculation that the German car manufacturer will have the best engine in 2014. 

"I believe in German technology and English engineering," he said. "It works quite well together. 

"But we have no proof that the engine will be the best. This is just from experience that Mercedes are able to build very strong engines. 

"But Ferrari is also a very good manufacturer. Renault has a lot of history in this turbo charger engine, so they could be also very strong."

 

Source : asia.eurosport.com

Force India won't rush decision

 

Force India hopefuls will have to wait to learn their fate as Vijay Mallya won't make a decision until after the team's Christmas party.

 

Several drivers are vying for a seat at Force India for next year's Championship including 2013 race drivers Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil.

But according to the latest rumours, the team could undergo a complete overhaul with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez tipped to replace the current pairing.

For now, though, all four - and everyone else - will have to wait as Mallya is in no rush to decide.

"Everybody knows I make the decision at the last minute - well not the last minute - I make the decision after the Force India Christmas party which means in December," the team owner told ESPNF1.

"I see no reason to change it. Yes, I have received approaches from other drivers but they all know that decision time will be in December.

"I would like to think and believe that the Force India race seat is a very desirable seat, it's not just a seat for the sake of having a seat. So I am not surprised that people have come to me."

Source : planetf1.com
 

Brazil GP - Force India Preview quotes

Paul di Resta, Force India
2012 Qualifying - 11th, 2012 Race - 19th
“(The Brazilian Grand Prix) is one of the most atmospheric weekends of the year. The fans are the loudest and very passionate about Formula One. There are drums playing in the grandstands and a party mood all the time. It’s great to see and it definitely gives you a buzz. Because it’s such a small track every hundredth and thousandth of a second becomes even more critical in qualifying. The lap has a very nice flow with a real variation of corners. There are fast sections, slow corners, elevation changes and off-camber parts of the lap. It may be small, but it has everything you need from a track. In terms of points scored this has been my best season in Formula One, but it would be great to round off the year with a special result. The weather forecast looks uncertain and it’s a track which always generates an interesting Grand Prix. It’s the final race for the V8 engines so I really hope we can end the era on a positive note.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2012 Qualifying - n/a, 2012 Race - n/a
“Sao Paulo is the complete opposite of somewhere like Abu Dhabi, but the atmosphere in Brazil is always amazing. It’s one of the historic races and the track only has a few corners, but every year it produces an interesting race. One of the reasons is because the main straight is so long. It’s quite easy to follow a car onto the straight and there’s a big chance for slipstreaming. It’s also a difficult circuit to drive despite its short length. It’s bumpy and quite low grip, which makes it hard to get the perfect lap. I want to finish the season well and help the team retain its position in the championship. I had an unlucky weekend in the United States and there is no better way to forget it than with a strong result. I believe the track will suit our car and, should this be a wet race, we could be in a good position for a high-points finish.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“It was important that we secured such strong results in India and Abu Dhabi. As I said before Austin, it gave us some breathing space and we are still 24 points ahead of our nearest competitor. I think the odds are in our favour, but there's no room for complacency: we need to make sure we get the job done in Interlagos. The weather forecast is for some rain (this weekend) and that would introduce an element of unpredictability. That was the case last year when Nico [Hulkenberg] was leading the race, so we have good memories of Interlagos. It's a lovely track too and I'm looking forward to it. It's the last race of a long season and the end of an era before the new rules come into force next season.”

Source : Formula1.com

Sutil: Maldonado on different planet

Adrian Sutil described Pastor Maldonado's driving as dangerous after a United States Grand Prix collision that the German branded "shocking".

The Force India and Williams came together on Austin's back straight on the first lap, sending Sutil into the barriers.

Asked by AUTOSPORT to explain the incident, Sutil replied: "On a very big straight, with a lot of space left and right, for some reason I got a hit on the left tyre in the middle of the straight and lost the car.

"It was very shocking. You'd never believe something like that, but it happened.

"There was no reason to be so close. I was on my line and I didn't do anything different.

"I was staying straight with my steering wheel and to the left and right there was a lot of space. I don't understand why someone then hits you.

"There's like an emergency area around him, you have to give room for two cars, not just one."

Sutil felt it was only luck that prevented the crash from being much worse.
"What happened today could have ended differently. It was around 300km/h, touching on the rear tyre," he said.

"I could've rolled. There were still five or six behind. We want to get out of these cars alive. You need to think a little bit sometimes."
Maldonado played down the incident, but put it down to Sutil's movement on the straight.

"It was quite strange," said the Venezuelan.

"I didn't expect that contact from Sutil. We were side by side and I was losing a little bit on the straight because he was moving past.

"He either didn't see me or was thinking he was already fully ahead. My front wing was there and we touched.

"I have nothing against him and it is very difficult to see when the cars are side by side. Sometimes it's happened to me in the past as well, it's nothing really important."

But Sutil said Maldonado was always a difficult driver to race against.
"Whenever you get close to him, he brakes 50 metres later than everyone else and he's sometimes over the limit," said the German.

"It's more dangerous to drive against certain drivers. Of course many drivers have had incidents with him.

"I think for him to back off sometimes a little bit would be quite good. It gets to a stage where it could be dangerous."
Sutil did not believe talking to Maldonado would be worthwhile.

"I don't see a big point in talking," he said.

"I've tried it several times, but he's on a different planet.

"In the incident at Spa, he went straight into Paul [di Resta] and said it was our fault... 

"For me, it's done and over."

Source : Autosport.com

American GP - Race - Force India Drivers quote

Paul di Resta, 15th
“I made a good start and was in reasonable shape for the first stint. But it soon became clear that we were struggling for pace and not really in the zone with the tyres. We were pushing to do a one stop race, but the tyre wear was a bit higher than expected and I ran out of tyre performance with nine laps to go. It was hard to defend my position so I had to make a second pit stop. It’s a shame because we were quite optimistic before the race and we thought the warmer weather might play into our hands. So it’s a bit disappointing, but we will pick ourselves up and look to end the season with a better result in Brazil next weekend.”

Adrian Sutil, DNF
“It feels like I ran out of luck this weekend. Up until Saturday morning I was looking competitive and was happy with the car, but all of that promise disappeared with the problems we had in qualifying. In the race I made a good start, gained a few positions and was racing ahead of Maldonado on the back straight. For some reason he hit my left rear wheel and I immediately lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers. I don’t really understand why he was so close to me because the track is so wide there. I stayed on my line and there was a lot of space to the right and the left. So it was an early finish and a very disappointing day.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“Despite the promise we have shown at various points during the weekend, we leave the United States without the results we thought were possible. Our chances took a big hit on lap one with the accident for Adrian, which was a result of the contact with Maldonado. That put all our hopes onto Paul and we were looking to repeat the strategy we pulled off in Abu Dhabi by stopping only once. For a while we thought it was possible, but we couldn’t achieve the tyre management we needed and had to pull him in for a late second stop. It was always going to be tough to score points today, but I’m optimistic that Interlagos next week will work more in our favor.”

Source : Formula1.com

American GP - Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Force India
Paul di Resta (12th, Q2 - 1m 38.139s)
“I’m reasonably happy with today’s result because this is a track that does not particularly suit my driving style. The wind picked up quite a bit before qualifying, which made the conditions tricky and I think we made the most of that. We out-qualified some quick cars today and in the end I was just a tenth away from making Q3. I was planning to go for a final quick lap in Q2, but I came across Lewis [Hamilton] on my out lap, who was cooling his tyres. It meant my out lap was compromised so we aborted the run. We can make a free choice on tyres tomorrow and we’ve shown recently that our performance on race day has been our strength. If we can make a good start and optimise the strategy, then points will be within reach.”

Adrian Sutil (17th, Q1 - 1m 39.250s)
“It’s a disappointing result today. The car has been quick through all the sessions, but things didn’t go to plan today. I had to overtake a lot of traffic on my quick lap in Q1, including a Marussia going into the final corner, and that cost me the chance of making Q2. I then started another lap and suffered a brake disc failure on the front right, which ended the session for me. So I’m starting in P17 and I just hope we can do something with the strategy to try and get up into the points tomorrow.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“It was a mixed qualifying result for Sahara Force India. Paul had a good session and made a big improvement between final practice and qualifying. He’s put himself in a strong position to race for points tomorrow. Adrian was unlucky with traffic compromising his best opportunity in Q1. His final chance of a quick lap ended with a brake disc failure on the front right corner, which resulted in a puncture. It’s unfortunate because he was not able to show the true speed of the car. The task for us now is to try use the strategy to bring him into contention for points.”

Source : Formula1.com

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:39.699, 14th; P2 - 1:38.719, 11th
“It’s my first visit to Austin and I have to say I really like the track. There are some nice corners and some tricky ones where it’s easy to make small mistakes. It’s not that easy to learn the track either because it’s a challenging lap, especially the high-speed sections. We worked hard to improve the car set-up today, but the balance is still not where I want it to be. Hopefully we can make some positive changes overnight. As for the tyres, there is not a big difference between the hard and the medium, but we managed long runs on each compound so should be well prepared for the weekend.”

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:39.836, 15th; P2 - 1:39.410, 15th
“It’s been a difficult day to understand exactly where we are and I don’t think my position in FP2 is a true reflection of our competitiveness. I came across some traffic on my best lap so Adrian’s position is probably more representative. The long runs looked more promising and if we get everything together we can hopefully match the performance level we’ve shown for the last few races. The focus tonight will be on tyres: understanding them more and how to manage them over the weekend.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Team principal and Managing Director
“It’s great to be back in Austin. The circuit still looks spectacular and the welcome from the American fans is always fantastic. Despite the disrupted morning session we made good progress today and both cars covered plenty of laps. It was a new experience for Adrian, who is driving here for the first time, but by the end of the morning session he was fully up-to-speed. Both drivers have yet to find the optimum balance and the track conditions meant it was hard to be consistent and difficult to make comparisons. The engineers have lots of data to analyse tonight to make sure we get the most from the tyres in qualifying and the race.”

Source : Formula1.com

America GP- Force India Preview quotes

Paul di Resta, Force India
2012 Qualifying - 13th, 2012 Race - 15th
“It’s great to have a race there, especially at such an impressive facility. I still remember the huge crowd that came to the race last year and the amazing atmosphere. The place was absolutely packed and the whole city was very enthusiastic about Formula One. We go there with high hopes and will try and build on the performance of Abu Dhabi.
“Sector one stands out for me. It’s very similar to the Maggots and Becketts sequence at Silverstone and the fast chicanes work the car and tyres really hard. It’s a very enjoyable part of the lap and those corners really show you the potential of a Formula One car. The rest of the lap is quite open with a great flow. A lot of the corners are off-camber, too, which adds another challenge.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2012 Qualifying - n/a, 2012 Race - n/a
“I’ve spent time in America before. I’ve been to a few of the big cities: New York, Los Angeles and Miami, but never to Texas. I hear it’s a beautiful place with a lot happening so it sounds like a great location. I've heard lots of good things about the Circuit of The Americas, too.
“It’s a very unusual lap with a big variation of corners. The first sector is interesting with so many turns one after the other and it looks like there are some nice high-speed corners. The feedback I’ve heard is very positive and everyone says it’s smooth and enjoyable to drive. From what I’ve seen it appears to be one of the better new generation tracks so I’m looking forward to getting there and trying it for myself.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“We’ve scored 15 points in two races and we now have some breathing space behind us. But we won’t change our approach heading to Austin. We will go there focussed on closing the gap to fifth place, which is just 18 points. I think everybody was impressed by our first visit to Austin last year. The race was a real success and it’s great to see the interest from such an important market. We were in the points last year and we go there determined to get some more this year.”

Source : Formula1.com 

Di Resta feels sixth proves worth to Force India

 

Paul di Resta believes his sixth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proves Force India should retain him for 2014. 

Di Resta's future is uncertain after three seasons with the team, with Force India likely to make a decision on its driver line-up after the end of the season. However, having held off Lewis Hamilton to secured a top six finish at Yas Marina, di Resta said he had shown what he is capable enough when given a quick car.

"I've always said I would like to stay with the team; I would like to stay in Formula One more importantly," di Resta said. "But if they give me the tools I can deliver and I think that proves what I can do. I expect the decision very soon from the senior management as they said, but I will keep focusing on the races and let the management team do the business in the background."
Di Resta said he was especially pleased to hold off a Mercedes in the closing laps.

"It's a great feeling to finish sixth and make the one-stop strategy work. I said yesterday that we had opted to set the car up more for the race and it really paid off today. There were times when we had to be very quick and times when we had to manage the pace and look after the tyres. Towards the end of the race I was battling with Fernando and Lewis, but it was impossible to hold Fernando back because he was on much fresher soft tyres.

"Lewis was on the mediums so I just focussed on getting clean exits from the hairpin and the chicane leading onto the long straights, and was able to stay ahead. The eight points are just what we needed and everybody in the team deserves credit for the big effort that has gone in this week. That's two strong weekends in a row and we will move to Austin determined to keep up the momentum." 

Source : En.espnf1.com

Abu Dhabi GP- Race- Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta, 6th
“It’s a great feeling to finish sixth and make the one-stop strategy work. I said yesterday that we had opted to set the car up more for the race and it really paid off today. There were times when we had to be very quick and times when we had to manage the pace and look after the tyres. Towards the end of the race I was battling with Fernando and Lewis, but it was impossible to hold Fernando back because he was on much fresher soft tyres. Lewis was on the mediums so I just focussed on getting clean exits from the hairpin and the chicane leading onto the long straights, and was able to stay ahead. The eight points are just what we needed and everybody in the team deserves credit for the big effort that has gone in this week. That’s two strong weekends in a row and we will move to Austin determined to keep up the momentum.”

Adrian Sutil, 10th
“Considering that I started in P17 I have to be quite satisfied about scoring a point and I’m happy about the team result today. It’s not been an easy weekend with the problems I had during practice and qualifying, but the strategy today was the right one and we came away with a point. I was running in ninth until the last lap ahead of Perez, but by that time I had done 27 laps on the soft tyres and it was very hard to defend because I had no traction out of the slow speed corners. The points scored in the last two races have been very important for the championship position.”

Bob Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“The whole team can feel very proud of today’s result, which sets us up nicely for the final couple of races. With nine points in the bag the sixth place in the championship is looking much more realistic and we are only 18 points away from fifth place. Despite the limited practice mileage on Friday we felt confident of pulling off the one-stop strategy, just as we did in India last weekend. Paul and Adrian drove faultless races, looked after their tyres when they needed to and showed very strong pace throughout. It’s rewarding to see the progress we have made in the last couple of races, which is a result of all the hard work behind the scenes. We’ve kept our heads down, worked hard and it is starting to show. We now look forward to Austin with optimism and hope to build on the performance of the last two races.”

Source : Formula1.com

Abu Dhabi GP- Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (12th, Q2 - 1:41.133)
“I am pretty satisfied with P12, which puts us in a reasonable position for tomorrow. I’m feeling good in the car, which has worked well all weekend. For tomorrow I’m optimistic that we can be up there with a good chance of picking up some points. The car is responding well and I also think we are more suited to the race than qualifying. There’s a long race ahead of us, but we will work hard to put together a good strategy tonight and try to push our way forward in the race.”

Adrian Sutil (18th, Q1 - 1:42.051)
“I’ve not been feeling comfortable with the car this weekend. The practice sessions have not been easy and I just can’t find a balance that is working for me. It started in second practice yesterday when we had the issue with the brakes and since then I’ve been struggling. We made some changes before qualifying, which were an improvement, but it was not enough to progress to Q2. So we are disappointed with P18, but it’s the result of things not coming together for us. It’s a long and tough race here, but I still look forward to it and will try my best to improve our performance.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It’s encouraging to see Paul up in P12 and only a tenth away from the top ten. He’s been happy with the car performance from the start of practice and has progressed with each run. We have a good race car, with consistent pace over long runs, which will hopefully allow us to join the fight for points. On the other side of the garage it has been quite a challenging weekend for Adrian. He’s not been comfortable with the car and, despite our best efforts, we’ve not found the right direction to give him a balance that gives him confidence. It will be an interesting race tomorrow and hopefully our strategy decisions tonight will allow us to move forward with both cars.”

Source : Formula1.com

Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Force India
Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:45.040, 7th; P2 - 1:42.806, 13th
“It’s been quite a positive day. The general balance is not too bad, although there’s still work to do to improve the car through the high-speed part of the lap. The main issue of the afternoon was the brake failure on the front left, which caused me to run wide at turn eight. The team chose to change the brake material, which cost us about 15 minutes of track time, but we were able to do a long run on the soft tyre at the end of the session.”

Adrian Sutil, P2 - 1:42.998, 15th
“It’s hard to say too much about today because we had to change the brake material in the middle of the second session. That had quite a big impact on the car and it was difficult to make a comparison with the set-up changes. There is quite a big difference between the two tyre compounds and at the moment I’m struggling more with the medium tyres. The general balance of the car felt okay so I’m still positive we can be in good shape tomorrow.”

James Calado, P1 - 1:45.924, 14th
“Yas Marina Circuit is a track I know really well so it was easy to get up to speed today and within one or two laps I was feeling quite comfortable. The rest of the session went pretty well and I was able to complete the comparison work with the set-up. The balance felt good, but I was suffering with high tyre wear on the medium, especially through the final sector.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It’s been a positive day overall. The only real issue was the brake failure on Paul’s car, which fortunately did not cost us too much track time. He was able to return to the pits and we fitted new brake material to both cars as a precautionary measure. I feel optimistic that we can build on the performance level we showed in India last weekend. The long run pace looks competitive, especially on the soft tyre, and both drivers felt happy with the general balance.”

Source : Formula1.com