America GP - Preview - Force India Driver Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
2013 Qualifying - 4th, 2013 Race - 6th
"I remember that as soon as I drove in Austin my first thought was that it was an amazing circuit. It's fun to drive, with lots of different kinds of corners, and it's one of the best tracks from the new generation of circuits. It's very easy to find a rhythm and the tarmac is very smooth, which makes it very nice to drive. Away from the track, Austin is a venue everybody enjoys visiting. It's not the biggest city, but there is a good atmosphere and they love Formula One.

"I've had good results in Austin [P8 in 2012 and P6 in 2013] so I am feeling upbeat about this weekend. It's clear that some teams ahead of us have made a step forward recently, but we know that we can race well. I think it's realistic to target points again this weekend and try to close the gap to fifth place."

Sergio Perez
2013 Qualifying - 7th, 2013 Race - 7th
"Austin is a great race and because it's so close to Mexico it feels like my ‘home' race. There are usually a lot of Mexican fans and you feel a lot of support because the grandstands are full and there are always a lot of Mexican flags. I enjoy the track, especially the first sector and the uphill turn one, which is quite unusual. You can brake extremely late for this corner and it's a good overtaking opportunity. From there you go into the quick corners: turns three, four and five, which are a lot of fun to drive.

"I arrive in Austin feeling positive. I've scored points in every race since the summer break – five races in a row – and I think we've maximised what we could get out of those races. We've been racing hard, taking some chances, and making some excellent decisions with the strategy so hopefully we can continue to do so in the next few races."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"Fifth place is not that far ahead so it's certainly not out of reach. It's been a ding-dong battle all season. As I said before Russia, we're not giving up, whether it's Austin, Sao Paulo, or Abu Dhabi we'll give it everything we have! The final races of the season traditionally can deliver surprises and we must be ready to take any opportunity that comes up. The USA has a long history in Formula One and it seems Austin as a city has continued the tradition of embracing the United States Grand Prix. The grandstands are full, the supporters are passionate and knowledgeable, and there is a party atmosphere in town for the whole week. It's one of my favourite events in the calendar."

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Hulkenberg to stay with Force India for 2015

Nico Hulkenberg will remain with Force India for the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship, the team have confirmed.

The 27-year-old German is enjoying his best season to date in 2014, having scored points in all but three Grands Prix. He currently sits eighth in the drivers' standings.

"It's good to confirm my plans for next season," Hulkenberg said. "This is a team I know extremely well and we've enjoyed a great year together with some special results.

"The team has big ambitions and I believe we can have a competitive package once again next year. We have a strong partner in Mercedes and everyone in the team is motivated and hungry for more success.

"I have a good feeling for 2015 and there is a lot to be excited about as we try to build on the results we have achieved this year."

Force India team principal and managing director Vijay Mallya said retaining Hulkenberg was a major boost, adding: "Everybody in the team is delighted to see Nico remain a Sahara Force India driver for next season. We rate him very highly and he has done a tremendous job this year by consistently picking up crucial championship points.

"We know him extremely well: he's a true racer and he knows how to motivate the team. I am convinced he is one of the best talents on the grid and I am proud that he will continue to race in the colours of Sahara Force India."

Hulkenberg raced with Force India in 2011 and '12 and, after a one-year spell at Sauber, returned ahead of the 2014 season. He has scored 76 points over the opening 16 races - compared to team mate Sergio Perez's 47 - and has helped keep Force India in the hunt for fifth in the constructors' championship. The team currently trail McLaren by 20 points.

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Russian GP - Race - Force India Drivers Quotes

Sergio Perez, 8th
"It was a very hard race and a very hard-earned point. We tried our best to push throughout the race, but obviously the fuel strategy was quite marginal - especially because I started the race on the medium and had to really push to keep in touch with the group on the softs. When I was on the softs, it was hard to save fuel because I had to defend from Felipe [Massa] who was behind me for the whole of the second stint. So it was a hard afternoon, but hopefully we can be in better shape for the coming races."

Nico Hulkenberg, 12th
"It was quite a difficult race for me today. We started pretty far back on the grid and I was struggling a little with my straight-line speed compared to the cars with which I was battling. We were doing well in the corners, but losing a bit of ground on the straights, which made it difficult to overtake, especially on a track like this, where the straights are the only good passing opportunities. We could have probably finished in a higher position had it not been for this. We will need to regroup and come back stronger in Austin."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"It was a difficult race on a track on which overtaking is nearly impossible. Checo was able to make his way past some of the other cars and mounted an impressive defence against Felipe Massa to claim the final point. Unfortunately his earlier overtakes had claimed a toll on fuel consumption and he had to give up his chase of Raikkonen to save fuel, otherwise ninth might have been possible. Nico's race was compromised by his grid penalty, but he did well to close in on the top ten. This result complicates a bit the battle for fifth in the Constructors' Championship, but with three races left, including the double-points finale in Abu Dhabi, everything can still happen. We will keep working hard and give 100 percent to bring the battle down to the wire."

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Russia GP - Qualifying - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (12th, Q2 - 1:40.058)
"It's a very long and challenging lap here, and it's not so easy to put a good lap together. I think we got pretty much what we could from the car because getting the most from the tyres today was a big challenge. If you pushed more initially, you paid the price at the end of the lap, so the secret was to find a balance across the whole lap. Having the five-place grid penalty tomorrow will be quite costly on this track because I think it's going to be difficult to overtake € it's only really possible down the two main straights. Hopefully I can make a clean start and use our race pace to score some points, but there is not that much you can do with the strategy because the tyre degradation is very low. We expect this race to be very demanding on fuel consumption so maybe that will open up some opportunities."

Sergio Perez (13th, Q2 - 1:40.163)
"It is disappointing to miss out on a place in Q3 because the gaps were very small. My first lap in Q2 was very good, but in my second run I made a few mistakes which cost me two tenths and a place in the top ten. I think we will be starting pretty much where we expected based on our one-lap pace, so we will aim to move ahead and achieve a better position in the race tomorrow. In terms of strategy, we don't expect big surprises. I think it will be an interesting race: overtaking won't be easy so the start and the first few laps could have a big influence on the final result. The track is quite difficult and tyre temperatures will be a key element as the race progresses."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"A place in Q3 was out of reach today but the margins were very close and one or two tenths would have made the difference. The penalty for Nico is unfortunate and gives us an even bigger challenge tomorrow because of the limited strategy options on a circuit where it appears to be very difficult to overtake. However, it's a brand new track, we've never seen a race here, and there are lots of unknowns that could play a role. So we remain optimistic of converting our starting positions into points and we will give it our all as usual."

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Rusia GP - Friday practice - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:43.976, 13th; P2 - 1:41.677, 12th
"It was a positive Friday for us. This is a nice track to drive; it's really cool but also challenging and tricky. There are some very technical parts, especially the last sector. We ticked all the boxes in our programme today and got some good data. We will work on tweaking the balance a little overnight in order to find a bit more pace and improve performance for tomorrow."

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:43.129, 6th; P2 - 1:42.090, 14th
"It was nice to get out on track and get our mind off the very difficult week we all had. I would say today was a good start to our weekend. We managed to complete almost all our programme, with the only interruption caused by the red flag. This interrupted our assessment of the prime tyre in the long runs, but it feels like it handles quite well. The track has a very nice layout and the option tyres in particular work really well here. As a circuit, it appears to be quite demanding in terms of fuel, which will have implications for the strategy. These factors should make for quite an interesting race for the fans."

Vijay Mallya, team principal and managing director
"One of the priorities today was to give the drivers as much track time as possible to get acquainted with this new circuit. We were able to verify the correlation between our simulations and the actual track running, checking that we are running the correct settings and that we are getting the most of the advantages our power unit gives us. There is still plenty of work to do but it's positive to see that both Nico and Checo were getting happier and happier about the car as the day progressed. We end the day being pretty satisfied with the balance we have shown in the long runs, and we will aim to get a bit more qualifying performance ahead of tomorrow."

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Russia GP - Preview - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
“It’s always fun to explore a new place and this will be my first visit to Russia. So far I’ve only seen a few photos of the paddock and the track layout so I will arrive there with a very open mind about what to expect. However, I do have high expectations because I know that the organisers have made a big effort to make the race a success.
“It’s hard to look at a track on paper and really get an understanding of how it will feel to drive. I prefer to go there and experience things before I make judgements and talk about track characteristics. So in that sense it’s too early for me to compare it with another circuit. What is clear is that there are some really quick sections and a lot of right-angled corners.
“It’s fun to learn a new track and I look forward to the first few laps of free practice. I would say that after about 10 laps you’ve done your learning and start to feel comfortable. After that, you can focus more on improving the car’s performance.”

Sergio Perez
“I’m really looking forward to the race in Sochi. It’s a country that will be totally new for me and so it’s exciting to go there for the first time. I will feel like a tourist looking around the city.
“The location of the track inside the Olympic park is very unusual. If I get the opportunity I will definitely explore a bit. From the photographs I’ve seen it looks to be a very impressive facility. There are some long straights, some tight corners, and I think it will feel like a street circuit because the walls are close to the track in a lot of areas.
“To prepare for a new track I normally walk the track and cycle it a few times. Normally you need about 10 laps before you can really start doing performance runs. Nobody knows the track so it will be the same situation for all of us. We all start from zero.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“Everybody at Sahara Force India continues to send support to Jules (Bianchi) and the Marussia team. We know Jules well having worked with him during 2012. His recovery is the main priority at the moment.”

“[Russia] is an important race for us and for the global expansion of the sport. Russia is an emerging market for Formula One and it's big enough and important enough for everyone in the sport to look forward to going there. These huge markets are the kinds of places that we should be concentrating on, which is why I continue to push for India to be back on the calendar as well. We need to embrace these huge audiences where there is great potential to increase the popularity of our sport.

“[In terms of fifth place in the constructors’ championship] we are hanging on in there and we know we face a big task in the final four races to maintain this advantage. We are certainly motivated and will do all we can to add performance to the car and score points. In Formula One, anything can happen – we’ve seen it over and over again – and with double points on offer in Abu Dhabi there is all to play for.”

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Japan GP - Qualifying - Force India Drivers Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (14th, Q2 - 1:35.099)
“Starting from P14 will be difficult and will make the race a bit more of a challenge. We lost a very good lap at the final chicane when I locked up and I have to kick myself for that. I think we would have been on target for Q3, which would probably have been the optimum result considering our performance throughout the weekend so far. Starting 14th complicates things, but Suzuka is one of the trickiest circuits, so tomorrow there will be everything to play for. With the threat of rain, a lot can happen."
Sergio Perez (12th, Q2 - 1:35.089)
“I’m feeling disappointed not to be higher up today. My first run in Q2 was good, but for my second attempt, when the track was improving, things didn’t work out for me. On my out lap I came across a lot of traffic in the final chicane so I had to slow down and lost temperature in the tyres and brakes. So I arrived at turn one on the next lap and didn’t have the grip. It’s a shame not to maximise our performance today because we managed to improve the car before qualifying and I felt more was possible. I’m hoping for better things tomorrow.”

Robert Fernley, Force India team principal and managing director
“Going into qualifying we certainly felt that Q3 was a realistic prospect and we should have ended the session a bit higher up the grid than P12 and P14. Nico made a mistake on his final lap in Q2 going into the chicane and that cost him the chance to move up. It was a similar situation with Sergio, who did a great first lap in Q2, but didn’t get his timing correct on his second lap and was compromised by traffic. So we didn’t extract the maximum from the car today. How this will impact the final result in the race remains to be seen. The question mark over the weather remains at the front of our minds and will present its own challenges and opportunities tomorrow.”

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Japan GP - Friday Practice - Force India Driver Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:38.582, 14th; P2 - 1:37.504, 12th
“Today's practice sessions went quite well from our perspective, even though in FP2 there were a lot of yellow and red flags that brought a few interruptions. We have a clear idea of what we need to concentrate on to find a bit more speed overnight and hopefully some changes in the set-up will improve the balance of the car ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session. I am not overly worried about the rain that is expected later in the weekend; we just have to wait and see, especially for Sunday. In the end, we are all in the same boat when it comes to the weather and we will need to react to what the situation is.”

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:38.324, 13th; P2 - 1:37.786, 15th
“It was quite a difficult day because we lost a lot of track time this afternoon. It meant we could only do a short run on each tyre compound and I missed out on the high fuel running. Of course, if it rains on Sunday, missing out on this running won’t really matter, but we have to see what happens with the weather. My initial feeling was good on the hard tyre but we still need to work out the right compromise to get the most from the medium tyre.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
“It was quite a straightforward morning session with both cars running through their initial programmes and making reasonable progress. Unfortunately the afternoon was a bit more complicated with Checo’s car suffering from an electronics control problem related to the gearbox. That impacted quite significantly on his track time and meant we could not do the usual high-fuel running that we had planned. Nico, on the other hand, was able to do some longer runs to give us some useful data, although his progress was disrupted by the red flags, especially the final one at the close of the session. The rest of the day was focussed on evaluating set-up changes to find the best direction for tomorrow, while also keeping in mind the uncertain forecast for Sunday. The overall focus for tonight is to try and make the drivers feel a bit more comfortable with the balance.”

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