Nico Hulkenberg Q&A: We punched above our weight

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg produced another impeccable drive in Monaco to record his sixth successive points finish, seeing off the challenge of the McLarens in the process. After the race the German spoke to reporters about his day, including that unbelievable move on Kevin Magnussen at Portier…

Q: Nico, P5 must be a very happy end to your Monaco weekend…
Nico Hulkenberg: Yes, it is really great. I would say that we definitely punched above our weight today. I think the McLarens were quite a bit faster, but you also have to be able to bring it home - and that’s exactly what we did. It definitely was a difficult race, so the position is an extra sweet reward for the team and me.
Q: Can you talk us through your race? You seemed to be involved in more battles than most…
NH: Yeah, it was really tough. On a couple of occasions half of me almost hit the wall, so I’m very happy being able to come home with ten points.
Q: What about your unbelievable move on Kevin Magnussen at Portier on lap 32?
NH: I grabbed my opportunity! I think he had to let the Toro Rosso pass as he overtook him during the safety car restart and that’s when he obviously lost momentum and I got the chance to stick my nose into Turn 8. Honestly I was not sure if it would work - I just tried it. My heart was racing at that very moment - I saw myself without a front wing! I think we briefly touched, but in the end I gained the place. Sometimes you have to take risks - calculated risks, not stupid risks. On a track like this where overtaking is almost impossible, this move was the icing on my cake this afternoon! (laughs)
Q: How much did it help you that on a street circuit pure speed is a bit of a secondary thing?
NH: Sure it helps. But don’t forget: this is Monaco. Here you always manoeuvre close to the wall - and in the end it is the same for everybody. And I think it is always easier having the speed but not fully having to use it then having to bank on the fact that speed is not so much of an issue.
Q: After Mercedes, Force India is proving itself the best Mercedes-powered team…
NH: Great isn’t it? We fended off the McLarens superbly in very tricky situations. My rear tyres almost disintegrated and I felt at times I was racing on metal on the back.
Q: The strategy calls today seemed to be just about perfect for you…
NH: Yes, indeed, but in the end there wasn’t much choice anyway - when the safety car came out you had to come in and put on the supersofts as staying out would have screwed your race.
Q: How does Monaco feel with these new generation cars?
NH: It was good - no big difference to the 2013 cars until the last 20 or so laps when my rear tyres gave up. So these new cars work well on any kind of track - and that is good news.
Q: Today’s result puts you in fifth in the drivers’ championship, above Sebastian Vettel. What is your goal for this season? Is it changing the more success you have?
NH: No, the goal hasn’t changed. I want to deliver good performances and races where you make the maximum from your possibilities - these are the races that really put a smile on your face. For me it could go on and on and on like this. Of course, we have to look not to stall in car development, as this is the second weekend we are racing with pretty much the same car, so updates are high on the agenda.
Q: What does it mean to you being one position ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship?
NH: That doesn’t mean much. I am just happy that I fully capitalised on my chances today - and to be honest Red Bull are not our competitors. This is only the sixth race and looking at the season they will move ahead, no matter what.
Q: The next race is Canada. What do you expect there?
NH: Canada should also work well for us - even if it is a completely different track. In fact, I think it should suit us even better than here as it is a straight line circuit. I hope it will be at least as good as it was here. I definitely want to keep the momentum.

Formula1.com 
 

Monaco GP Race - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, 5th
"Ten points today is a great reward after such a difficult race. The last twenty laps were really tricky because my supersoft tyres were at the end of their life and it was hard to hold off the cars behind me and stay away from the barriers. There were a few close moments when I kissed the wall, but I survived and managed to hold on to fifth place. Fortunately my car was quick in the right places – going into the tunnel and also through the final corner. There were some enjoyable moments in the race, especially my move on Magnussen. He had to let the Toro Rosso back through and he lost a bit of momentum so I saw my opportunity to stick my nose down the inside of turn eight. On a track like Monaco it gives you a big smile to make the move stick."

Sergio Perez, DNF
"I was in a battle with Nico, who was ahead, and I went to take the apex normally. I was on the racing line and ahead of Jenson [Button] when he clipped my rear wheel and spun me around into the barriers. I did not expect him to be there as there wasn't really any space for another car there. It was very unlucky. As a racing driver you have good and bad Sundays but this is definitely one I want to forget as soon as possible. It is disappointing that we lost a big chance to score a good amount of points, but the car felt much better here than in Spain, as shown by Nico's result. This is a very positive signal looking ahead to Montreal."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"Today's race equals our best ever result in Monaco, so I am obviously very pleased about Nico's performance. He drove a very clean and strong race, and was able to withstand incredible pressure in the last 20 laps to finish fifth despite being on very old tyres. He also pulled off one of the best overtaking moves of this season, so I think he will remember this day for a long time. Unfortunately, today also saw some disappointment as Checo was punted into the barrier on lap one. I am confident he would have been firmly in the fight to score big points as well, but I'm also sure he will bounce back immediately. Our pace looked really strong which is a good sign as we prepare for the next race in Canada."

Formula1.com

Monaco GP Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Sergio Perez (10th, Q3 - 1:18.327)
"Although it's good to be in the top ten, I'm feeling a bit disappointed not to be higher up the grid. My hot lap in Q3 was quite difficult and I had a lock-up going into the Nouvelle Chicane - so there was definitely more speed in the car. One of the main challenges was getting the tyres in the perfect working condition and I don't think we maximised that today. We need to look at ways to make up positions tomorrow and we should be aggressive with our strategy because I don't think there will be too many overtaking opportunities. Hopefully it will be an interesting race."

Nico Hulkenberg (11th, Q2 - 1:17.846)
"A place in Q3 was very close today - less than a tenth away - but I'm not feeling too disappointed because I was pretty happy with my lap in Q2. There was just a tiny bit missing because it's very hard to get a perfect lap in Monaco. The traffic management by the team was good and although I had some traffic in both Q1 and Q2, it was not at the crucial moments. Starting from P11 with an extra set of fresh tyres gives us a good chance of scoring points tomorrow. It's a long race and we have to be ready to react quickly with the strategy to try and gain some positions. We also expect more cloud cover tomorrow and there is even a chance of rain."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"Qualifying in Monaco is crucial and starting the race in P10 and P11 is not a bad result, all things considered. Sergio produced a good effort to make it into Q3, but it was a pity Nico missed out, although he will at least have an extra set of new tyres for tomorrow. Our starting positions mean both drivers have a very good opportunity to race for points. In all the sessions so far we have seen the cars around us having a similar pace to ours, which means making the right strategic calls will be the key to gaining positions tomorrow."

Formula1.com 
 

Monaco GP - Thursday practice - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:19.856, 10th; P2 - 1:19.712, 7th
"The wet weather did not give us an opportunity to run much this afternoon, but I feel we have made the most of the time available this morning. In terms of performance the car is feeling okay and we just need to make some set-up tweaks and work on the balance before Saturday. The focus has to be on qualifying here because it's even more important than at any other track. So we just need to optimise the car to be ready for Saturday."

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:19.666, 8th; P2 - 1:19.668, 6th
"The day was disturbed by the weather so the work we have done is quite limited. I feel quite happy with the car and we ran in the top eight all day so it's been positive. That's where we need to be aiming for Saturday because qualifying well here is so important. There are still quite a few unknowns because I did not manage to do any long runs or race preparation, but it's the same for everyone."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"We knew there was rain on the way so we tried to maximise the dry track time this morning. We made use of the extra set of tyres in the opening 30 minutes and completed the usual set-up tests to gather some data. In the afternoon it was simply a case of waiting for the track to dry because the forecast suggests the weekend will be dry and there was little value in running on a wet track. When the track had dried out we sent both cars out for the final ten minutes on the supersoft tyres, but with an evolving track it was hard to make any comparisons with this morning. The wet weather meant we missed out on the usual high fuel running this afternoon, but Nico did one long run this morning to give us some data, which will be useful for our race preparation."

Formula1.com
 

Force India eyes British GP upgrades

 

Force India is planning a "significant" upgrade for July's British Grand Prix, as the Formula 1 team bids to maintain its early-season form.
The Silverstone-based team lies fourth in this year's constructors' championship after scoring points in every race so far, but it slipped to the back end of the top 10 at the recent Spanish GP after bringing only a modest upgrade package to Barcelona.
Sergio Perez urged his team to keep up in this year's development race, after complaining of a lack of downforce in Spain, but deputy team principal Bob Fernley revealed the VJM07 is unlikely to change substantially until July's Silverstone event.
"Spain was a combination of China and Barcelona upgrades, which have delivered performance on two circuits that are not necessarily our strongest," Fernley told AUTOSPORT. "Let's say they're damage limitation circuits.
"We now move to Monaco, which is very much a random circuit - you can either be hero or zero, you just hope you're hero!
"Montreal should be a reasonable race for us, and all being well we'll aim to have a significant upgrade coming through for Silverstone."
Fernley said it was important Force India maintained focus on how it performs over a race, as well as chasing downforce.
"We need to improve the downforce, we need to improve the performance, but at the end of the day it's about racing and I think the track record of Force India over the five races shows that it's better," he added.
"We've been in the points every race. What we've got to do is make sure we continue the development programme and keep the edge on the race side."

PACE COMPARISON
 
How Force India compares on raw pace to the frontrunning Mercedes team over the first five races, using each team's fastest lap across each weekend:
Australia +1.603s
Malaysia +1.515s
Bahrain +1.161s
China +1.421s
Spain +2.453s 


Autosport.com 
 

Monaco preview quotes - Force India

Nico Hulkenberg
2013 Qualifying - 11th, 2013 Race - 11th
"It's the event of the year. Your heartbeat goes up when you arrive there and walk over the bridge into the pits. The place looks amazing with the buildings, the scenery and the mountains. Of course the biggest thrill is driving the track because it's so unique and gives you the biggest excitement of the year. In terms of precision it's right up there with Singapore as the toughest race of the year. You never get a break during the lap; you are always working hard because it's corner after corner. Even the straights are really short and it's high-speed for such a narrow track. I particularly enjoy the swimming pool area, which is very quick, and the two right-hand corners before the tunnel. I think it will be a normal track for us. As far as the pecking order is concerned, it's very tight and competitive at the moment so we need to keep working hard and keep developing."

Sergio Perez
2013 Qualifying - 7th, 2013 Race - 16th
"It's a big challenge and I have always believed it's a circuit where ýthe driver can really make a difference. So you always have the chance to do something special there. It's not the most difficult lap of the year, but you have to always keep your concentration. I don't believe that there will be a major surprise and I expect the same teams to be at the front. It's hard to predict how strong we will be, but I hope we can continue our good form."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"Monaco is one of the premier events of the year and hopefully we can perform well there - [in Barcelona] we brought some updates and worked hard to optimise them, but there is a bit more we can do to take full advantage of those parts in the coming races. Monaco is a track where you can take nothing for granted because you have to balance speed with respect for the barriers. It will be interesting with the new cars because it is so unforgiving and the drivers will have to be at their very best."

Formula1.com
 

Spanish GP - Race - Force India Drivers quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, 10th
"It was a case of damage limitation today. We knew from the early practice sessions that this wasn't going to be our strongest track so to get two cars in the points is a positive result. The tyre degradation was high and the car was not so easy to drive, but I think everybody was struggling in the final part of the race. I thought we would need to make a third stop, but fortunately the tyres held on and I was able to score a point. We will use all the data we got over the weekend to improve for the next few races where we hope to be a bit more competitive."

Sergio Perez, 9th
"It was quite a hard afternoon, so to come away with two points is not too bad. I had pretty strong pace in the race and my tyre degradation was okay so I think we probably could have been a bit more aggressive with the strategy. Maybe if we had stopped earlier I could have jumped ahead of some more cars because my pace was good, but it was just so difficult to overtake. We knew this track would be a tough test for us, so this result is more or less what we expected here. Maybe P7 or P8 was achievable today, but we should feel quite happy to keep up our run of points."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"There were few surprises in this afternoon's race and our final result of ninth and tenth is a fair reflection of the pace we have shown during this weekend. As I said yesterday, this circuit was never going to play to our strengths and yet we still managed to secure a double points finish. It means we've scored points in every race so far this year and this keeps up our momentum in the championship. Like everyone, we suffered with high tyre degradation and it was tricky to make the right decisions on when to stop. We felt we were quite aggressive with both car strategies, but in hindsight we probably could have pushed the limits even more. We now head to Monaco with 57 points and sitting in a strong fourth place in the championship."

Formula1.com 

Spain Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (11th, Q2 - 1:27.685)
"My lap was very good and I am pleased with the effort we put in during qualifying. We made some steps forward with handling and set-up compared to FP3 this morning, but we still ended up a little bit short of Q3. Considering that we haven't been totally comfortable with the car for most of the weekend, P11 is a very good place to start the race and gives us an extra set of medium tyres compared to the rest of the top ten. I expect a very strategic race tomorrow, especially as most of the teams around us seem to be on a similar level when it comes to race pace. It's going to be a challenge for everyone and tyre management will be a key point, but points are within our reach."

Sergio Perez (12th, Q2 - 1:28.002)
"I think we finished qualifying more or less where we expected. Maybe a place in Q3 was possible, but I did not manage to complete my final run in Q2 because my preparation lap was not ideal. There was too much traffic and my tyres were not optimised, which is why I chose to abort my final quick lap and save the tyres. Coming here we knew this track would be quite a difficult one for us, but we still believe we can be competitive tomorrow. I think the race will be all about getting the strategy choice right because it’s so difficult to overtake on this track. Our race pace is looking promising so we have a chance to get back some positions tomorrow.”

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“Starting the Spanish Grand Prix in P11 and P12 is a good effort on a track that has always been one of the most challenging for us. Both drivers have been chasing the car balance during practice and struggling to optimise the car. A place in Q3 was not too far away and starting from the sixth row of the grid means we can race for points. We expect to have a similar level of race pace to a lot of the cars around us and making the right strategy calls tomorrow will be critical to making progress in the race.”

Formula1.com

Spanish GP - Friday Practice , Force India Driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:28.828, 12th; P2 - 1:28.074, 11th
"It was generally a positive day and we got all the information we wanted from the two sessions. We still have some work to do to find some performance in the car as we have the potential to improve. The track here in Barcelona is very challenging and it is going to be key to find some extra grip, especially when working with the harder compound. Degradation is high here, last year was a four-stop race and I expect the demands for the tyres to remain high this year as well."

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:28.779, 9th; P2 - 1:29.129, 16th
"Today has been a fairly challenging day. Our race pace looks good but it will be crucial to qualify well because overtaking is always difficult on this circuit. The compounds available for this weekend are very hard and this creates some issues with getting the tyres to work as desired. We need to work on this aspect with the engineers tonight and then we will be able to battle for a place in Q3, which has to be our aim."

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
"It's been a productive day with 100 laps completed and no significant loss of time. We were able to evaluate some upgrades in the morning session and we were happy with the results, so we retained them for FP2. It got very hot in the afternoon and this makes it hard to find enough grip, but we have identified the areas of the set-up we can work on to improve our performance. We will work with the data we have collected to achieve that tonight. Our long run pace looks good when compared to our rivals so we can use this as a starting point to improve the balance of our car overnight."

Formula1.com

Perez believes Spanish GP progress crucial for Force India F1 team

Sergio Perez thinks it 'crucial' that Force India's updates for the Spanish Grand Prix deliver a decent step forward if the team is to maintain its strong start to the Formula 1 campaign.

Force India has enjoyed its best ever start to a season - having scored a podium finish in Bahrain and currently holding third place in the constructors' championship.

But with the fight behind pacesetter Mercedes being so close, Perez is under no illusions that a slip-up in its development push could prove costly to its ambitions.

"It is crucial that we do a good step for Barcelona," Perez told AUTOSPORT. "It will be crucial to keep us in the [right] rhythm.

"We are in a good rhythm as a team and we need to keep progressing from there."

Force India has benefited from the impressive work of engine partner Mercedes, and knows that the key battleground from now will be in improving the aerodynamic qualities of the car.

"We need more downforce overall," added Perez. "You see everyone looking for rear downforce, and it would be good for have some downforce in general.

"I hope [the update package] is big enough to get us fighting with the big boys. It will be really good if we can keep this car going, and there is good room to improve."

Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg has high hopes that Force India can match the development rate of the bigger money teams it is fighting with.

"I think we can keep up," he said. "It is obviously hard to say for sure, but what I hear is that there is some good work done and stuff in the pipeline.

"I am optimistic we can have a competitive season."

Autosport.com
 

Spain Preview quotes - Force India

Nico Hulkenberg
2013 Qualifying - 15th, 2013 Race - 15th
“Even though we know the place inside out, it remains a tough, tricky circuit and one of those places where it’s especially important to optimise the car balance. If you don’t feel totally comfortable with the car it really hurts your lap time. Barcelona is the true test for downforce because of the quick corners in the first and second sectors. Traction is also important in the final part of the lap with the low-speed corners and we should be strong there.”

Sergio Perez
2013 Qualifying - 9th, 2013 Race - 9th
“I love coming back to Europe to race on some of the classic circuits. I enjoy Barcelona and for me it’s one of the best circuits on the whole calendar. It’s very complete with a mix of everything and some very long, quick corners. It’s tough physically, especially on the neck with so many right hand corners, but it’s a fun place to drive a Formula One car. It’s always a race where teams bring new updates so it’s going to be interesting to see how everyone will perform there.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“It’s encouraging that we have performed well across a wide range of circuits, so I’m optimistic that we can maintain our competitive form in Barcelona. China has never been an especially strong track for us, so to come away with ten points was a very good effort. We also expect our car to perform better in warmer conditions and there are some upcoming races that will play more to our strengths. At the same time we know that Formula One never stands still and Barcelona is always a pivotal moment in the development race, but I’m optimistic we can keep up our momentum.”

Formula1.com

Hulkenberg: P3 realistic for Force India

Nico Hulkenberg believes Force India is more than capable of maintaining its position of third in the constructors' championship for the rest of the season.

Hulkenberg has been one of the stand out performers in 2014 so far and is currently fourth in the drivers' standings. He and Sergio Perez have helped elevate Force India up the pecking order, and the team is currently enjoying its best start to an F1 season.

Though the Spanish GP represents the start of a ferocious development battle Hulkenberg is confident Force India can rise to the challenge and keep itself at the top end of the pack.

"We're up in third in the championship and we want to stay there. The hard work over the winter is paying off, but we know that Formula One is always a development race and things can change from one weekend to the next. So we need to keep working hard to maintain our good position."

"I've enjoyed the first part of the year. It's probably gone better than we were expecting after winter testing and it's good to keep picking up the points. I'm fourth with 36 points and I think that's a big achievement. The car has worked well everywhere and we've made the most of the opportunities. Consistency is surely one of our strengths at the moment."

Hulkenberg is convinced Barcelona is a track where Force India can continue its early form.

"Even though we know the place inside out, it remains a tough, tricky circuit and one of those places where it's especially important to optimise the car balance. If you don't feel totally comfortable with the car it really hurts your lap time.

"Barcelona is the true test for downforce because of the quick corners in the first and second sectors. Traction is also important in the final part of the lap with the low-speed corners and we should be strong there."

En.espnf1.com

Force India announces Smirnoff sponsorship deal

 

Force India will feature Smirnoff on its sidepod from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards after announcing a new partnership with the vodka manufacturer.
The team hopes the "fan-centric" partnership will "help lovers of the sport get closer to drivers, nearer to top quality race action and further away from exclusivity". Smirnoff is the latest drinks company to enter F1, following Martini's partnership with Williams which was announced on the eve of the season.
Force India also says Smirnoff will use its new partnership "to deliver a powerful anti-drink drive message".
"It's fantastic to see Smirnoff join the world of Formula One," said team owner and principal Vijay Mallya. "It's an iconic, global brand and we welcome them to the Sahara Force India family. As a team we've always mixed the highest professionalism on the track with great celebrations away from it and our partnership with Smirnoff reinforces these values. As we continue to make progress on the track, Smirnoff is the ideal brand to help celebrate these moments and open up the sport to new fans."
Smirnoff feels the reputation of Force India as a team willing to mix it with the traditional front-runners makes it a perfect partner.
"We love Sahara Force India's story, as well as its ability to help us communicate about responsibility and top quality performance," Matt Bruhn, the company's brand director, said. "This team is shaking up how we perceive racing and giving the establishment a real run for its money. We are thrilled to help them bring fans closer to the action and have lots of fun with this energetic, exciting team along the way."
As well as the branding on the sidepod, Smirnoff's "eyebrow" logo will also appear on its drivers' suits, helmets and team clothing.

Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/forceindia/motorsport/story/156167.html#Muyt7hu72b28eeds.99

 Force India will feature Smirnoff on its sidepod from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards after announcing a new partnership with the vodka manufacturer.

The team hopes the "fan-centric" partnership will "help lovers of the sport get closer to drivers, nearer to top quality race action and further away from exclusivity". Smirnoff is the latest drinks company to enter F1, following Martini's partnership with Williams which was announced on the eve of the season.

Force India also says Smirnoff will use its new partnership "to deliver a powerful anti-drink drive message".

"It's fantastic to see Smirnoff join the world of Formula One," said team owner and principal Vijay Mallya. "It's an iconic, global brand and we welcome them to the Sahara Force India family. As a team we've always mixed the highest professionalism on the track with great celebrations away from it and our partnership with Smirnoff reinforces these values. As we continue to make progress on the track, Smirnoff is the ideal brand to help celebrate these moments and open up the sport to new fans."

Smirnoff feels the reputation of Force India as a team willing to mix it with the traditional front-runners makes it a perfect partner.

"We love Sahara Force India's story, as well as its ability to help us communicate about responsibility and top quality performance," Matt Bruhn, the company's brand director, said. "This team is shaking up how we perceive racing and giving the establishment a real run for its money. We are thrilled to help them bring fans closer to the action and have lots of fun with this energetic, exciting team along the way."

As well as the branding on the sidepod, Smirnoff's "eyebrow" logo will also appear on its drivers' suits, helmets and team clothing.

En.espnf1.com

Force India revelling in McLaren plight

Force India is revelling in beating ex-technical partner McLaren in this season's Formula 1 constructors' title race, according to deputy team principal Bob Fernley.

Vijay Mallya's squad led McLaren for the first half of last year's battle, until its competitiveness faded following Pirelli's decision to tweak its tyre compounds in the face of repeated blowouts.

Force India currently lies third in the 2014 constructors' championship, 11 points ahead of McLaren, which has failed to score in the last two races.
Fernley reckons it will be difficult for Force India to raise its level to that of frontrunner Mercedes, or Red Bull, but he is hopeful the Silverstone-based outfit can continue to fight Ferrari and remain ahead of McLaren across the rest of the campaign.

"Lotus are struggling at the minute and are not where they want to be and McLaren would be our next competitor and they're struggling too. I'm not in the slightest bit sad about that - may their problems not be too insignificant!" Fernley told AUTOSPORT.

"It would be hard for us to compete with Red Bull and Mercedes. It's not going to be easy for us to [continue to] compete with Ferrari, but for as long as we can, we will."

Nico Hulkenberg fought Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in each of the first two races and Fernley said this represented a "major step" for Force India, despite the fact Hulkenberg finished a distant sixth to Alonso's third in China.

"If you look at our historical results we tend to be a bit up and down, whereas now we're absolutely consistent across the circuits," Fernley added.

"If you look at Ferrari, they're probably the exact opposite to us: Bahrain was an Achilles' heel for them and in China they fit in much better.

"It's just the DNA of the designs in some cases.

"If you look at Australia and Malaysia, Nico and Fernando were battling all the way through, so you get that bit in the middle as well.

"We come out of this [early part of the season] feeling quite pleased."

Autosport.com