Engine modes giving Force India a performance boost in Baku

After three races last year, Force India had 17 points and were fourth in the constructors’ championship. At the same point this year, they have just one point and lie ninth. But there were signs in Baku that the team are back on the pace thanks to updates and more power from their Mercedes engine.

Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were third and fifth respectively in first practice. They followed that up with 12th and seventh in the second session, as Force India demonstrated they should have the performance to compete for points with both cars on Sunday.
“The car seemed to be a bit better,” Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer said. “The drivers are a little bit happier. Top 10 should be achievable now.

“The first session was basic
ally an aero testing session with both cars trying some development parts.

“All the data we collected will help us learn more about the car’s behaviour and where we can find more performance going forward.

“You always bring updates that the tunnel and CFD have given you an indication are going to be better than what you have now and by a significant amount.

“But that’s not reality. This is reality. You have to bolt them to the car and see if it correlates. Our correlation has been really good.”

Szafnauer also revealed that Mercedes have made a more powerful engine mode available for the works team as well as their customers Force India and Williams this weekend.
“Mercedes sometimes, rightfully so, will restrict the more potent modes that we run to a limited amount of time or laps,” he said. “That’s because of the way they go about developing.

“They will validate from a reliability standpoint those modes to a point where they think that they’re safe to run – and then they let us all run those.

“Then they’ll go back during the season and have an increase on those modes, so you can run a higher mode for longer, and then they will stick that on the dyno and validate to make sure the engine will hold.

“When they are happy, then they increase the modes. And they’ve done that here. [It’s worth] a tenth [of a second] maybe. Half a tenth in qualifying.

“It’s a bit of a longer qualifying mode. During the race, we run two modes. The race-plus mode as we call it. Everyone calls it something different. The quicker race mode, we can run it longer now.

“They increased it by a significant amount of kilometres. Maybe 20-30km longer. It’s lap time at the end of the day.”

Force India scored a podium with Perez in Baku in 2016 and were in a strong position to repeat the feat last year until those hopes evaporated when Ocon and Perez collided. However, even with new engine modes at their disposal, a tilt at the rostrum might be beyond them this year...

Formula1.com

Azarbaijan friday - Force India practice quotes

Force India have been steadily improving since the start of the season and both drivers looked genuinely quick today in practice. Perez has history round this circuit and looked to have pace on both the supersoft and ultrasoft tyres, which could bode well come Sunday... although the team will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year, when they saw their drivers collide mid-race.

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:45.075, P3; FP2: 1:44.142, P12
“It’s been a positive day and I think it’s going to be a very interesting weekend. It’s a track I really enjoy and with any street circuit it’s all about finding the limits and pushing them as much as you can. The fight in the middle of the grid is going to be very close, but I think we can be competitive. The work we have done today gives me encouragement and I have a good feeling with the car. The main priority tomorrow is to make sure we deliver a perfect qualifying session so we can be high up the grid for the race. The track conditions at the end of the day saw the temperatures drop quite a lot and that’s why we saw drivers making mistakes and running wide. It’s going to be tricky during qualifying tomorrow.”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:45.237, P5; FP2: 1:43.814, P7
“I think we are in good shape. It’s been a solid day working our way through the job list and improving the car. There is more speed to find tonight and tomorrow, but we have done our homework. I’ve been building my confidence during the day – which you have to do on a street circuit – and we have the potential for a strong weekend. The track conditions didn’t really improve as much as I was expecting today. It was still quite dusty and slippery this evening and it was pretty low grip in the cooler conditions.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It’s been an encouraging day of practice allowing us to achieve most of our objectives. The first session was basically an aero testing session with both cars trying some development parts. All the data we collected will help us learn more about the car’s behaviour and where we can find more performance going forward. The second session was routine with a mixture of qualifying and race preparations. It’s clear that the margins between the midfield teams are very small, but the early indications suggest both our cars have a good opportunity to qualify inside the top ten tomorrow.”

Formula1.com 

Azerbaijan Preview - Force India

Sergio Perez
"It only feels like yesterday we were racing in Baku, but I guess it’s a bit earlier in the calendar this year. It’s already a track with a big reputation and I have special memories from 2016 and our podium. It’s a track where we have always been competitive so I want to go there this year and score points.

"The first few races haven’t gone very smoothly for me. I think I’ve been unlucky, especially in Bahrain, but I know it sometimes happens in racing. The last race in China was really disappointing because I lost out on lap one and there was no way to recover to the points. Our pace was competitive and we took another step forward with the car performance, but things just didn’t work out on race day.

"The progress we have made since Melbourne was visible in Shanghai and I’m feeling happier with the balance of the car now. We are catching up and getting back to our normal position. I think Baku will be interesting because it’s all about good top speed and being confident on the brakes. I love the challenge of street tracks and I really enjoy driving in Baku."

Esteban Ocon
"Baku is a cool event. It’s so fast with the longest straight of the year, which is quite unusual for a street circuit. It produced probably the best race for fans last year. I love the atmosphere of city races and it’s a really interesting place to explore. I also enjoy the delayed schedule because we wake up later in the day and there is more chance to have a good night’s sleep.

"My first race in Baku last year was pretty eventful. So much happened in the race and it was definitely a missed opportunity for us. We were competitive so I hope we can be quick again this year. The racing down the main straight was really cool and if you pick up a tow you can find a huge speed advantage.
"It is a place where you can go three or four cars wide, which is insane. It’s not the sort of racing you often see in Formula One so it’s quite exciting when it happens. There are good overtaking opportunities so you can make up a lot of ground even if you’re at the back.

"Baku is definitely a great chance for us to score points. The car is improving with each race and I can see how hard everybody is working to find more performance. At every race this year we’ve had new items to test and it’s the same this weekend. It’s still early days in the season and if we can unlock the potential in the car I think we can be up there fighting consistently at the front of the midfield."

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal
"Baku will be an important weekend for us and we’re determined to get back into the points. The first few races haven’t delivered the results we were expecting, but this was mostly due to circumstances that worked against us.
"We were involved in first lap incidents that dropped us down the order in Bahrain and in China, and we didn’t show our true potential. With such a closely matched midfield, it’s very difficult to recover if you lose so much ground at the start of a race.
"On the positive side we’ve shown good progress with our car performance since Melbourne. We have made Q3 in the last two races and we understand the car more. It’s time for our luck to turn and the results to follow."

Formula1.com 

Race day in Shanghai , Force India Quotes

Force India

Perez was unlucky at the start, contact with Alonso forcing him wide, and he dropped a handful of positions. From there it was always a tough ask to bring the car home in the points. Ocon ahead was put on an aggressive strategy, pitting very early to try and undercut those ahead. It worked to a certain extent, but his two-stop strategy was neutralised by the safety car and he ran out of time to chase down Magnussen for the final points place.

Esteban Ocon, 11th
“We were so close to scoring points today, but the events of the race didn’t really help us. It was a messy start and we lost some time, and we didn’t make any progress. The race was starting to come back to us because we pitted early and the two-stop strategy looked to be working well. We were on course to finish in the points until the Safety Car came out. After that it was a big push until the end of the race, but I was stuck behind Grosjean for too long and he defended very well. Ultimately this cost me the chance of overtaking Magnussen and getting back in the points. It’s another race where things didn’t play into our hands, but the pace was competitive so we focus on the positives.”

Sergio Perez, 12th 
“It was another race ruined on the first lap. The start was chaotic and I ran into a lot of trouble. I was pushed wide by a Renault at the exit of turn four and lost a lot of places there. That pretty much ruined our whole weekend. We were suddenly on the back foot, on the weaker tyre and there was very little I could do. We got close to the points and the team made a strategy call that gave me an opportunity to try and pass Kevin [Magnussen] but there was not enough time. We can focus on the positives: we are getting closer to our competition. Yesterday we took a step forward; we made another improvement today and I am confident that once we get to Europe we can start picking up some stronger results.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“A difficult opening lap put us on the back foot and saw both cars drop down the order. Despite a pace advantage we were stuck in traffic, which forced us to pit both cars early in an attempt to undercut the cars ahead of us. Both cars were following two-stop strategies and after the Safety Car it was a case of trying to recover to the points, which we very nearly did. It was one of those afternoons where a combination of factors played against us and into the hands of others. The pace of the car was solid and that’s definitely a positive to take away we prepare for Baku.”

Formula1.com
 

Perez: Force India poised to strike back

“We’re coming”. That was the message from Sergio Perez after he guided his Force India to Q3 for the first time this year in China. 

After taking fourth in the constructors’ championship for the second successive year last term, this campaign has so far been tougher going for the Silverstone-based team.

Esteban Ocon’s point for 10th place in Bahrain last time out is all Force India have to show for two races. At the same point last year, they had 10 points.

And on Saturday, Force India Technical Director Andrew Green said the new car was struggling with a “fundamental” problem that is impacting balance.

But Force India made a step forward on Saturday as Perez booked eighth on the grid, the same as last year, while Ocon will start 12th.

“I’m extremely pleased,” said Perez. “It’s really tight margins but we’re closing up the gap. We’re coming. We’re definitely making progress.

“The main balance issue is still there, but we’re progressively improving. Today was one of those days where the driver could make a big difference because the wind conditions changed so much.

“And the conditions out there were very tricky. As a team, we worked really well together to understand the changes and that made a massive impact in today’s performance.

“Today, the key was understanding the track. It is very different to the other days. I knew today would be opportunity, we grabbed it and hopefully tomorrow we can score good points.”

Ocon said he could have got into Q3, but encountered a straight-line speed problem – that he reckons cost him a tenth of a second - and also made a mistake at the final corner.

“We found out we were losing some straight-line speed so we have to see if it was a bit of an engine problem or something else on the car,” he said. “Then on the last corner, there was less grip compared to my other runs and I lost the rear there, so I lost time there.

“These two things make a big margin at the end so I would have got through. But that didn’t happen. The positive of that is I will have new tyres to start the race and free choice of compound. With higher track temperatures tomorrow, it’ll be a big advantage I reckon.”
Perez and Ocon finished ninth and tenth respectively in China last year.

Formula1.com 
 

 

Chinese GP qualifying - Force India Quotes

Today marked something of a return to form for Force India, after two below-par performances in the first two races. Both drivers finished in the top 10 in final practice, and Perez went one better by not just making Q3 but out-qualifying Sainz and Grosjean when he got there. Ocon starts in P12, but does have the consolation of free tyre choice.

Sergio Perez, 8th, 1:32.758
“I am very pleased with our performance today as a team. My Q3 lap was very strong and I feel that we really maximised qualifying. The wind was very tricky because it changed completely from yesterday and I knew it could offer us an opportunity. Q2 was quite close and I made it through at the last attempt, and in Q3 we only did one flying lap, which was enough for P8. I am pleased we are so close to our rivals and I hope we can stay in that mix and come out on top of the midfield group tomorrow. The strategy will be interesting because starting on the ultrasoft may not be ideal, but we will try and make it work. We are feeling positive: we are getting closer and closer with every race, understanding more about 
our car and unlocking its performance.”

Esteban Ocon, 12th, 1:33.057 
“I’m not totally satisfied with today because I’d prefer to be starting further up the grid. The difference between making Q3 and not was just over a tenth, which I probably lost in the final corner with a small mistake. It shows just how close everybody is in the midfield. It’s a shame to miss out on Q3, but on the positive side I can start the race with a free choice of tyres. The target tomorrow is to score points again.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“We’ve looked a bit more competitive here, building on the progress we made in Bahrain, and I think today’s result is a fair reflection of where we stand at the moment. The team is working hard to improve the car session by session and we’re seeing the result of all those efforts. Sergio’s lap in Q3 was excellent and eighth place on the grid presents a good opportunity to score points. Esteban has been matching Sergio all weekend and was unlucky to miss out on Q3 today. Starting outside the top ten gives him some more freedom with tyre strategy tomorrow which could play into his hands.”

Formula1.com 
 

Practice in Shanghai - Force India Quotes

Force India again searched for aerodynamic improvements, with both cars sporting flow-viz paint at various points. Their raft of improvements seem to have made some difference, and although they didn't finish in the Top 10 they were not as far away as Australia, so are headed in the right direction...

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:36.051, P13; FP2: 1:34.792, P11
“It was a positive day. We worked our way through all the different tyre compounds and we’ve collected lots of information, which is always the focus of a Friday. It’s been pretty cold and wet today so let’s see what the weather does tomorrow. At least we have done a few laps on the intermediate tyres to be ready just in case we get some more rain over the weekend. Based on my feeling today, the goal tomorrow is to reach Q3.”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:36.351, P14; FP2: 1:34.874, P13
“A good day overall and a very busy one. We worked through the test items and ran all the tyres we needed to, and even did some laps on the intermediates when the rain arrived. The long runs went to plan and I tried the ultra-soft tyre for the first time, which has given us a good idea of the direction we need to take for qualifying. We’ve worked hard to find more performance too and I would say it’s been a more solid Friday compared to Bahrain. We will keep working hard tonight and see where we stand tomorrow.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“We split the programme between the cars this morning in order to evaluate some development parts, just as we did in Bahrain. The rest of the day was routine giving us a chance to evaluate all three tyre compounds as well as the intermediates. Both drivers are reasonably happy with the balance of the car, but track temperatures are very low and it’s been quite windy throughout the day. Adapting to the changing weather conditions over the weekend will be very important.”

Formula1.com 
 

Race day in Sakhir - Force India Quotes

Perez's race was compromised from the start - he was tapped into a spin by Hartley and had the double insult of winding up last and having bodywork damage which limited his pace for the rest of the afternoon. He also suffered the unusual fate of having 30 seconds added to his race time for a parade lap infringement. Ocon managed to avoid the incidents at the start which put him in good stead and he opened Force India's points account for the season.

Esteban Ocon, 10th
“It was a very tough race and there was never really a chance to catch my breath. I was always pushing, always fighting, always chasing. We are right in the middle of the midfield fight and it was a nice reward to overtake Carlos [Sainz] with just two laps to go and score the final point. I’m a bit disappointed that we didn’t get more from this race, especially starting from eighth place, but we did the best we could in the circumstances. The main positive to take from this weekend is the improvement we made compared to Melbourne. We need to keep working in the same direction to find more performance in China next week.”

Serio Perez, 16th
“It feels like an opportunity lost because my race was effectively over on lap one. We knew how important it was to stay out of trouble, but there was nothing I could do to avoid what happened. I made a pretty good start, but Brendon [Hartley] lost control of his car and spun me around. I had a lot of damage to the floor and that cost me performance for the rest of the race. Despite that, I nearly made it back into the points, but in the end there was no chance to do it. We can look at some positives: it was a fun race, with lots of battles and we are making progress with the car. I hope we can continue the good work and be quicker in China, where we will hopefully get more performance from our package.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“We had to work very hard to score the final point tonight. Esteban did an excellent job of chasing down Sainz in the final few laps and put significant pressure on him to overtake him and move back into the top ten. It was marginal as to whether it would be a one or a two stop race, but I think we called it about right with both cars. Sergio’s race was compromised heavily by the contact with Hartley on the opening lap where we were simply the innocent victim. There was big contact, which damaged the floor quite significantly and impacted performance. The spin dropped him to the back of the field and a slow puncture forced him to pit early and adopt a two-stop strategy. To recover to P12 was a tremendous effort in the circumstances.”

Formula1.com 

Bahrain GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Force India knew they had work to do after Melbourne and sacrificed a large chunk of Friday's running to development. It seemed to pay off as they vaulted up the midfield, with Ocon even making it to Q3. Perez struggled with his battery deployment but has the bonus of free tyre choice and is famously kind to his tyres, which could be key come race day. 

Sergio Perez, 12th, 1:30.156
“I am happy with what we achieved today. We made some good progress and we turned out to be closer to the front of the midfield than I thought we would be. I missed out on making Q3 by a very small margin, but it’s not too bad to be starting from P12. Grid position is not as important here as in other places so there is still plenty to fight for tomorrow. I think we can score some points and it’s definitely a big opportunity for us. It’s going to be a long race and I think tyre management will be very important so hopefully that will play to our advantage.”

Esteban Ocon, 9th, 1:29.874
“I’m feeling pretty pleased with our performance tonight. We are back in Q3 after a huge effort by the team over the last two weeks. We did a huge amount of work yesterday – testing, learning and understanding things on the car – and we can already see the improvement compared to Melbourne. It’s a good sign for the future and it shows the strength of this team even when we are under pressure. The car felt strong tonight and I think we are in good shape for tomorrow. Points are the target and we have good straight-line speed and decent race pace.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It has been a very intense couple of weeks working behind the scenes since Melbourne to understand the car better and make improvements. Tonight’s results suggest we are moving in the right direction with both drivers showing competitive pace in the very close midfield battle. We are traditionally stronger in racing conditions and with Esteban starting from P8 and Checo in P12, we have a good opportunity to score points tomorrow.”

Formula1.com 
 

Bahrain GP - Practice - Force India Quotes

The first practice session was not representative for the Force India team, as they experimented with aerodynamic balance and tried a raft of new parts on the VJM11. Come FP2, they ran similar tyre simulations to their midfield rivals and wound up in the middle of the pack in P13 and P14. Work to do if they wish to crack the top 10 tomorrow.
 
Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:33.662, P18; FP2: 1:31.868, P14
“The first session was very busy with lots of aero work. It’s given us lots of information to help us understand which parts are giving the best performance. We were evaluating the new front wing and will decide tonight if we will continue using it for the rest of the weekend. The evening session went smoothly and we did all the usual things to prepare for the race. Our long run pace is still stronger than our qualifying speed and I think we can come away with some points this weekend.”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:33.794, P19; FP2: 1:31.809, P13
“The team worked really hard today. It’s not easy to change the floor quickly during a session, but the guys did a really quick job and it didn’t cost us too much time on track. All the aero work we did today will give us valuable information for the future. The second session was pretty normal. We did lots of laps and I’m feeling quite happy with the car. We made improvements each time, but we are still missing a little bit of pace to be right at the front of the midfield.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“The hot track conditions this morning are not representative of racing conditions here so we chose to carry out a big testing programme to better understand the updated parts of the VJM11. Both cars ran with different aero configurations and it was an important day of learning. The evening session was focussed on the usual race weekend preparations and we completed the run plan without any significant issues.”

Formula1.com 
 

Bahrain GP - Preview - Force India Quotes

Sergio Perez
“Racing in Bahrain is good fun. It’s unusual because you’re in the desert and we also race under the lights. It’s actually one of my favourite tracks of the year and I’ve always gone well there. It’s where I had my first podium with Force India [in 2014] so I have those memories every time we go back there.

“The Bahrain track often creates good racing. I still remember the battle I had with my old teammate, Jenson Button, in 2013. The layout really allows you to race wheel-to-wheel at times. If you lose a position in turn one, you can fight back through turns two, three and four.

“It was difficult to overtake in Melbourne, but Bahrain should be a bit easier because it’s a more traditional track. We’ve got to be targeting points this weekend. Melbourne showed just how close all the teams are in the middle of the grid, so it’s especially important to have a clean weekend and maximise every session.

“The development race will be very intense this year, but I know we have good things coming. We need to do what we have done in the last few years by making improvements to the car at each race. We’ve already made a step forward since pre-season testing so we need to keep working in the same direction.”

Esteban Ocon
“When I think about Bahrain I always remember the beautiful paddock, which has so much space and looks amazing at night with all the trees lit up. Every year there’s a barbeque for the paddock and it’s nice that all the teams and media can come together before the racing begins.

“I love racing at night. It almost feels quicker under the lights and it looks better on television. Hopefully the fans like it as much as the drivers. The track is good fun and there are a few good overtaking spots, such as turn one and turn four.

“It’s a track that feels very satisfying when your car is working well. I particularly enjoy turns five, six and seven because they are so quick and then you’re immediately into a big braking zone for turn eight. It’s tricky because you approach at really high speed and it’s easy to make a mistake and run wide.

“It’s a tough weekend physically because of the heat. The daytime practice sessions are the most difficult, but fortunately it gets a bit cooler in the evenings for qualifying and the race. You need to drink lots to be hydrated and make sure you don’t lose concentration.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal
“Melbourne was a clear indicator that the competitiveness of the grid has closed up in 2018. We’ve got to work hard to maintain our fourth place in the championship and there’s going to be an intense development race at the front of the midfield. We are certainly up for the challenge and there are further changes to the car in Bahrain. We are a motivated team, with determined drivers and we will be targeting points this weekend.” 

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It’s business as usual in terms of developing the car. We’ve got a new front wing coming for Bahrain, which will complement the upgrades we introduced in Melbourne. The car we have now is totally different from the spec we used during testing and we’re still on a learning curve. There is huge development potential with this new aerodynamic platform and we have things in the pipeline, which will bring performance steps in the first quarter of the season.”

“Testing showed us that the midfield has closed up considerably, so there were no big shocks in Melbourne. I think the points will be spread among the teams more evenly this year and retaining fourth place is going to be a big task. But we’ve only had one race and things can change very quickly in Formula One. The development race is only just beginning and it’s where you end the season that counts. Last year we out-developed the teams around us and we have to do the same this year. Our goal is to defend our fourth place and we will be fighting hard to get back up there.”

Formula1.com 
 

Race day in Melbourne - Force India Quotes

Force India had lacked pace relative to their midfield rivals on Saturday, and come race day they started too far back to make serious inroads. Unable to keep a charging Bottas behind, Perez came close to the points as he hunted down an ailing Sainz, but ran out of laps to pressure the Renault driver ahead.
 
Sergio Perez, 11th
“It was quite an unlucky weekend for us, but there are still positives to take from this race. We came close to bringing home a point although it was just out of reach. I was pushing throughout the whole race and especially chasing Sainz in the final laps. I got really close to him, but it wasn’t enough. Overtaking in Melbourne is very difficult – you could see the same with Bottas who couldn’t pass me during the first stint. The Virtual Safety Car also didn’t help us at all, but that’s just how things go sometimes. I am still happy with my performance and the job we did as a team. We will need to move on and keep improving, but I believe we will soon be in a position to battle for points. Hopefully our improvements will come as early as Bahrain. It’s a race where you can overtake and strategy plays a bigger part compared to Melbourne.”

Esteban Ocon, 12th
“Not an easy race today. It was very difficult to overtake and even though I managed to jump ahead of Lance [Stroll] on the first lap, everybody quickly spread out until the safety car. I had a fight with Bottas for a while and after the safety car restart I was close to making a move on Sergio. We certainly had better race pace compared to our qualifying pace, but we are just missing some performance to be up there in the top ten at the moment. Things can turn around quickly in Formula 1 and we will keep pushing over the next two weeks to bring something extra to Bahrain.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“Ultimately we didn’t have the pace this weekend to fight in the top ten and so we’ve ended our day on the cusp of the points. It’s early days in the season and with twenty races to go there will be plenty of opportunities to develop this car and show our strengths. As I said yesterday, we’re on a learning curve with the developments we introduced this weekend and there’s more in the pipeline for Bahrain. Both drivers drove well today, but the luck didn’t play into our hands with the timing of the safety car, for example. Following other cars closely was tough and Sergiom n was right on the tail of Sainz in the final few laps but there was no way to overtake. We will work hard to be stronger at the next race in Bahrain.”

Formula1.com 
 

Qualifying in Melbourne - Force India Quotes

After finishing last season as 'best of the rest' behind the big three teams, Force India seemed to have gone backwards in qualifying with both drivers falling in Q2. Perez in particular reminded his team that they have plenty of work to do - but given both drivers failed to make Q3 last year, there is still optimism that one bad session isn't necessarily indicative of how the season as a whole will progress...

Sergio Perez, 13th, 1:24.005
“It’s disappointing not to be in Q3, but actually our performance was pretty good. We worked the tyres well and I drove a very strong lap, but I think the end result reflects where we are at this moment. We thought we had a chance to make Q3, but tomorrow is when it really matters. I think some things could play into our hands tomorrow because our race pace looks better than the pace we showed today. There’s an extra DRS zone creating more opportunities and it’s a race where we often see the safety car. There’s a long way to go so let’s see what we can do.”

Esteban Ocon, 15th, 1:24.786
“It was a tough session, especially Q2 where I was really struggling with the front of the car and locking tyres. It was also difficult to find space in the traffic. We had a big job this weekend trying to understand the new upgrade and missing out on some dry running in final practice didn’t help. The race pace will be better tomorrow and I think we can aim for the points. It’s one of those races where just making the finish gives you a chance to pick up a result. Tomorrow is another day and we will keep fighting and see what we can achieve.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“In reality our performance today was not dissimilar to our qualifying result here twelve months ago and it’s not a massive surprise to miss out on the top ten today. We’ve introduced a significant upgrade package and only fitted it to the cars for the first time yesterday so we’re on a steep learning curve at the moment. It’s delivering performance, but we know there’s more potential to come from it in the races ahead. We’ve shown promising long run pace in testing and yesterday so hopefully we can demonstrate that tomorrow and get some points on the board, as we did last year.”

Formula1.com 
 

Force India car almost completely new for Australia

Most teams have brought upgrades to the season-opening race in Australia - but Force India have gone one step further and brought an almost entirely brand-new car…

The Silverstone-based team’s Technical Director Andrew Green says everything apart from the front wing has changed since testing, and the transformation will be complete in Bahrain when that part is due to break cover.

“[The update] touches most areas as far as aerodynamics are concerned,” he said. “Everything from the front wing has changed and that front wing will be next race, which was always the plan.”

With wet weather predicted for Saturday, Green admitted the team will have to wait until the second race in Bahrain to complete set-up work.

“So far, it looks good,” he said. “The drivers are happy, they can feel a big difference from Barcelona. We just need to set the car up differently now, from where we migrated to in Barcelona.

“They can attack the corners harder, which is what we were hoping they were going to say. It’s changed the way the car works, changed the way it works the tyres, so we’re having to go through that loop again to optimise things.

“If it was dry tomorrow, we would carry that on tomorrow morning, but it will probably have to be put on hold while we do some wet running, do the race, and then carry on in Bahrain.”

Name change on hold

Force India had been evaluating changing their name ahead of the new season in a bid to make the team more attractive to sponsors, but Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer admitted that while they decided on a name, they ran out of time to push it through.

“It’s not going to happen this year,” said Szafnauer. “To change chassis name, from what I understand, you can’t do it in the middle of the season so we’ll have to get it done right at the end of the season.

“We went around to find the best name, we had some discussion with partners, sponsors and employees. Then we went to the FIA and FOM and they said 'well, you’re a bit out of time'.

“It’s not every day you change your name. The process wasn’t well defined and still isn’t well defined. Now that we know it, we’ll do it at the end of the season.”

Formula1.com

Australian GP - Friday Practice - Force India Quotes

Force India were working on aerodynamic set-up for much of FP1, and long-run pace in FP2. It remains to be seen whether P12 and P15 are representative times for their drivers, but they will have their work cut out in what is looking a very competitive midfield battle.

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:26.767, P16; FP2: 1:25.413, P12
“We achieved a lot today. There were a lot of new parts on the car and we needed to learn quickly. It’s only Friday and I think we can find more performance before qualifying. That’s always been our strength as a team and we need to work hard tonight understanding the data. I said during testing that all the teams are much closer together and if you look at the times it’s certainly the case. We need to be perfect in qualifying because a small mistake will drop you a long way back. ”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:26.605, P14; FP2: 1:25.888, P15
“For the first day of the season it was actually quite a normal day of practice. We had a lot of things to try on the car, but everything went to plan. It was all about learning and understanding the directions we need to take with the new package. We have already seen a step forward in performance compared to testing, but there’ is obviously some tuning to be done. The afternoon session was a bit frustrating because of the red flag and I always seemed to be stuck in traffic. Tomorrow is what counts, though, so we need to make sure we are ready and do our homework tonight.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“A solid start for us in Melbourne. The main job was fitting all the new aero parts to the car and starting to understand how to get the most from them. We made good progress with that and also worked through the usual tyre evaluation programme. Both sessions went pretty smoothly and we have lots of data to help us make the right decisions tonight. It was a shame that the red flag interrupted both drivers during their performance runs, but fortunately it was only a short disruption. It’s clearly very tight in the midfield and a tenth here and there will make a huge difference in qualifying. It’s hard to know exactly where we stand just yet and I wouldn’t want to make any predictions for qualifying.”

Formula1.com 

Australia preview quotes - Force India

Sergio Perez “The race in Melbourne is something I look forward to all winter. It’s a really cool place to start the season. I love the city and it’s probably one of my favourite places to visit.

“You always arrive in Melbourne full of hope. There are lots of unanswered questions and it’s when you really start to understand your competitiveness. At the same time, it’s not a typical race because it’s usually quite unpredictable. Often, just finishing the race is the key to getting a good result.

“I feel in good shape and ready for the season to start. I want this to be my best year in Formula 1 and I want to be back on the podium. During testing we saw that all the midfield teams are quite close together in terms of performance. I also think the gap to the front of the grid is smaller. Let’s see what happens."

Esteban Ocon
“It has been a long winter with a two-month training camp for me in the Pyrenees, but hopefully all the hard work will pay off now the racing is starting. I can honestly say I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel ready to go racing again. Testing is one thing, but now we will get the real answers in terms of our performance.

“Melbourne is a fantastic place. I think everybody in the team enjoys going there. The weather is usually nice and there’s extra excitement because it’s the start of the season. The atmosphere is brilliant all weekend and the fans give you lots of energy. I think it’s a perfect place to start the season.

“I’d like to think we can fight for points in Melbourne. We had a really solid second week of testing in Barcelona. I feel comfortable in the car and it’s very consistent. We have new parts coming for the race so hopefully that’s another performance step.”

Formula1.com