BIRTHDAY POINTS WOULD BE GREAT

Shanghai, China: Thursday, April 14, 2011

Paul heads into the China Grand Prix this weekend having scored in both the opening two grands prix in Australia and Malaysia. Ahead of the race at the Shanghai International Circuit, and his birthday on Saturday, Paul spoke with Jim McGill:

"Yeh, it would be a great birthday present to score again this weekend," Paul, who finished 10th in both Australia and Malaysia, said today after walking the Shanghai International circuit with his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil.
"I'm obviously delighted with what we've achieved in the opening two races, but what matters now is what happens this weekend." And Paul, who has outqualified Sutil in both opening races, is keen to use the German's pace as a barometer to measure his own pace.
"You can judge your performance on my teammate, and thankfully its been close," he continued. "Adrian is experienced, and I'm having to learn a lot quickly. It's tough to do what we are doing.
"But it's also a team effort over the weekend and the whole season. We're working well together because the constructors' championship is very important for the team."
Paul has prior knowledge of the circuit having completed a number of laps there last year in his role as Force India test driver, and he acknowledged the circuit demands an approach different to that at Melbourne and Sepang.
"The circuit at Shanghai demands something different from the cars and drivers. It has long corners, and in the approaches it's hard to pinpoint braking areas and turn-in points.
""The other thing is the weather will be quite a bit different to Malaysia in terms of the heat and humidity. That in turn has a knock-on effect on how the tyres need to be managed, so it's something both the team and I, plus the guys from Pirelli, will be concentrating hard on.
"But we're confident we'll be able to deliver the performance required and hopefully maintain our record of scoring in every race so far this season."

Di Resta thrilled with season start

Paul di Resta has admitted that the start to his Formula 1 career has exceeded even his own expectations after scoring again in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Force India driver added to his points tally with a strong drive to 10th place in Sepang, just a fortnight after being promoted to that same position in Australia following the disqualification of the Saubers.

And having made such a good impression with his strong race craft, di Resta has said that he could never have predicted doing so well so early on.

"I wouldn't say I am surprised, but I am definitely feeling good about it," he told AUTOSPORT. "I went in with an open mind and that is what I have done We've exceeded what we thought we were going to do, and we will stay very focused on that."

Di Resta believes that the point in Malaysia felt better than the one he achieved in Australia because it was achieved on the road.

"Yes, I think it is definitely more deserved," he said. "It was through speed. We got our strategy right with the speed we had.

"It was a bit unfortunate to lose that other point to Michael [Schumacher] in the end, but we had to cut our third stint a bit short as we were struggling on the tyres, and with four or five laps fresher tyres you could see what Michael could do.

"Once I saw I was ninth I knew the points would be important. I didn't make it easy for him, but at the same time I wasn't going to put myself at any risk."

Di Resta's performances are putting team-mate Adrian Sutil under pressure, but the Scotsman is under no illusions that things could get harder for him in the future.

"Adrian is fast, I am learning off him so it is not going to be easy," he said. "He is very fast at the moment and I will continue to try and learn off him and stay that side of him, but it is not always going to go my way.

"At certain points I am struggling, I am not going to deny it. I am still finding it difficult, but I am at a point where it is putting me through my paces and it will continue to do that. Hopefully through time it will get better. I am also working with two compounds, which I have never done in any other series."

If di Resta continues to deliver as he is at the moment, he should have little trouble convincing Force India to extend his contract for 2012 - although he also knows that a good run of form could land him a seat elsewhere.

"You definitely have to think a bit about the future and what other possibilities are around," he said. "I will try and continue what I am doing to make a mark on that end of the grid."

Source : Autosport.com

Force India announces “Force India Drivers Academy”

Force India Formula 1 team,today, unveiled its plan to hunt for one in the Billion F1 driver from India. The team announced "Force India Drivers Academy" which is aimed at nurturing Young Indian for the big platform. The program is for 5 years.Both Male & Female in the age between 14-17 years are eligible for the Program.

According to the official website:

The Force India Formula One team Driver Academy is the first phase of a driver talent hunt starting in April 2011 where the aim is to identify talented Indian drivers between the ages of 14 and 17 years and nurture them over a 5 year period with a view to developing indigenous Formula 1 driving talent. The initiative aims to spot talent by conducting karting championships all across the country. The races will be conducted between April and June 2011. The program will be conducted once every 2 years.

REGISTRATION

Registration for Mumbai,Goa and Kohlapur will be 16th April 2011 onwards.Registration dates for  Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Amritsar will be announced later.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

• Age Group: 14-17 license years
  • Date range: Born on or after 1st January 1994 to born on or before 31st December 1997
• The selection rounds are open for persons of Indian origin, including Non-Resident Indians and Person of Indian Origin
  • (If NRI or PIO, kindly carry relevant documents as proof)
• If selected for the National Finals, the driver must hold an Indian passport or a PIO card
• If NRI or POI card holder is selected for the National Finals then he / she will have to obtain a No Objection Certificate from the ASN (National Federation) of their residing country. This is mandatory
• The Indemnity form has to be submitted by participant at the venue. The form should be countersigned by the parent / guardian along with emergency contact number
  • One application per person per venue will be allowed. However, participants are free to register at another center should they fail to qualify at one
• Competitors must comply with any particular requirement or bylaw of the circuit
• From each regional selection round, top 14 drivers will be selected for the National Finals. A total of 98 participants will be selected for the National Finals. Additionally organisers / sponsors reserve the right to take two 'wild card' entries. Travel and accommodation of the participants selected for the National Finals will be borne by FIDA. Additionally, train / bus fare, if applicable, will be reimbursed on submission of the ticket

VENUES and CIRCUITS( With Contact Details)

Mumbai	Hakone Go Karting Sports Centre, Cliff Avenue Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai – 400076	Mr. Suryakant Shirke 022-65172735 / 36	26th Apr 2011	27th Apr – 1st May 2011
Goa	Go-A-Kart Racing Nuvem, Behind Tata Showroom, Margao-Panjim Highway, Margao. Goa	Mr.Christopher Moraes 0832-2757899	3rd May 2011	4th – 8th May 2011
Kolhapur	Mohite's Racing Academy At Abhishek Corp.Ltd., Gate No.148, Tamgaon, Kolhapur-Hupari Road, Tal. Karveer, Dist.Kolhapur – 416234	Mr. Sachin 0231-6451770	10th May 2011	11th – 15th May 2011
Bengaluru	Torq03 Karting Track E-Zone Club, Outer Ring Road, Maratahalli, Bangalore – 560034	Mr. Chetan Shivram +91-9741240602	17th May 2011	18th – 22nd May 2011
Hyderabad	Kart Cave Snow World, Lower Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad – 500080	Mr. Mazdayar Vatcha 040-64566446	24th May 2011	25th – 29th May 2011
Chennai	Kart Attack Sports Centre 101, East Coast Road, Akkarai, Chennai – 600119	Mr. Ravi Alfred 040-3299 0000	31st May 2011	1st – 5th Jun 2011
Amritsar	G-Force Karting Rainbow Resorts, Attari Border Highway, 16 Milestone, Amritsar – 143107	Mr. Indrajeet Singh +91-9855030199	7th Jun 2011	6th – 12th Jun 2011

HOW TO QUALIFY 

Each entrant must have driven at least 10 laps at the venue where he/she intends to participate by paying the rental charges of Rs 150 to the track owner. Once you have completed the 10 laps in a competent manner a certificate will be issued. This must be done before the start of the qualifying rounds.

A pre-qualifying certificate is mandatory for all participants. Once the certificate has been obtained, each driver will be given a time slot to attend the circuit where they will be given an opportunity to drive 5 laps where their fastest lap will be recorded. Booking a time slot during the registration is mandatory. The top 14 drivers from each city will go through to the final.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

http://www.onefromabillion.com

Source :f1adda.com

Paul Di Resta pleased with results

Paul di Resta has said that he is pleased with the start he has made to his grand prix career, having secured back-to-back points finishes in his first two races.

Having driven for Force India in Friday practice sessions last year and replaced Tonio Liuzzi over the winter, there has been plenty of expectation for di Resta to handle. And despite a car that is slightly off the midfield pace, impressive reliability and consistency have seen him finish tenth in both Australia and Malaysia.

"It's great to have finished two grands prix in good positions," di Resta said. "With us currently on a double header, I head to China a very happy man. It could have been quite a long four days with not a lot to do other than thinking about what I should have done. But I go there thinking we've done a good job, and I am happy, definitely. I know people were very happy with the job I did in Melbourne, and equally they can be with what we did in Malaysia too. It's all about building my profile and building my way up through it."

Di Resta also admitted that he had exceeded even his own expectations, but that he would not be getting complacent.

"If you'd said I'd score a point in my first two races, then yeah, but I'm not getting carried away with it. Have I surprised the team? I don't think so. I expect so much from myself and so much from them. This is a professional team, we're in Formula One, which is the pinnacle of motor sport, but I will say I'm happy at the progress I've made."

Having out-qualified Adrian Sutil in both races so far, di Resta said that it would be difficult to continue that record and that there was plenty for him to learn from his team-mate.

"Adrian's very quick and I can see that, so I'll keep bouncing off him because he has a lot of experience, and I'll try and use that to my advantage. I'm sure it's not always going to be like that this year, but give me time and I'll be where I need to be."

TWO RACES, TWO POINTS: I'M HAPPY

Sepang, Malaysia: Sunday, April 10, 2011

Paul continued his successful entry into Formula One racing by scoring his second successive world championship point after finishing 10th in the Malaysian Grand Prix. His Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil finished 11th.
Paul, who only lost ninth position two laps from the end of the race when he was overtaken by the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher — whose car had fresher Pirelli tyres — was delighted with his performance. After the race he spoke with Jim McGill.

"I have to say, I'm happy with that. To score my second word championship point in my second race is brilliant for me.
"I have to say big thanks to the team because they did a wonderful job on race strategy. But it was disappointing not to be able to hold off Michael at the end; he had fresher tyres because we had stopped a bit earlier for my third stop than predicted. 

"But I'll be honest; I also didn't want to risk the championship point we'd all worked so hard for throughout the weekend.
"I think the DRS showed some good racing today, so maybe we can be confident that in China our race pace may even be a little bit better. We were battling with cars that were a little bit quicker than us today, so overall I think we had a great race."

Malaysian Grand Prix - Force India driver quotes

Paul di Resta (10th)
"I am quite happy I must say. The team did a good job with the strategy. I just could not hold off Michael at the end, he had fresher tyres and we had to stop a bit earlier for my third stop than predicted. But I also did not want to risk the championship point as well. I think the DRS showed some good racing today, so maybe we can be confident that in China our race pace may even be a little bit better. We were battling with cars that were a little bit quicker than us today, so overall I think we had a great race."

Adrian Sutil (11th)
"The first few laps were not brilliant as I lost my front wing touching Barrichello's rear tyre. Then we had a two-stop strategy, I went into the pits for the soft tyres, then another set of hard and another set of soft, and made them last well, which is positive. We could have been in for a much better finishing position, which is a shame. Overall it was a disappointing weekend for me, but the team did a great job with the pitstops so I'd like to thank them for that."
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
"Once again, it was a satisfying race for the Force India team. The boys did a great job with the pitstops in very difficult weather conditions and the team's strategies worked very well. Paul did an excellent job coming home in the points once again, while I believe that Adrian would also have finished in the top ten had it not been for the early nose change which altered his two-stop strategy. I am very proud of what the team has achieved here in Sepang this weekend and hope that we can carry this momentum, and great team spirit, with us to the race in China next week."

I'M PLEASED WITH 14TH ON THE GRID

Sepang, Malaysia: Saturday, April 9, 2011

Paul admitted he'd exceeded his own expectations following another blistering Formula One qualifying session. The 24-year-old Scot starts tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix from 14th on the grid, three places ahead of his more experienced Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil, after setting a best time of 1min 37.370secs

.

"I'm very pleased with my performance today. Everyone in the team worked hard and delivered a good job today, and I have to admit I think my fastest lap of the day was a very good one.
"There's no denying we all feel we got more out of that qualifying session than we'd originally thought would be possible and I think we have certainly closed the gap to the teams ahead of us.
"But tomorrow is going to be a long race, in tricky weather conditions — there's always the strong possibility of rain here which would mix things up a bit — but I'm certainly getting more excited now about our progress with regard to improving our performance in the future."Paul

Malaysia Grand Prix — Qualifying;
Q1: 16th  1:38.045  (9 laps) Q2: 14th 1:37.370  (3 laps)

Qualifying Temperatures 
Air max: 30.0°C Air min: 28.0°C
Track max: 44.0°C Track min: 36.0°C