Hulkenberg targets Force India race seat

Nico Hulkenberg believes that he has a realistic chance of ousting compatriot Adrian Sutil for a race drive at the Force India team in 2012.

After losing his Williams race seat to Pastor Maldonado in 2011, Hulkenberg joined Force India as official test driver for the team. And with team boss Vijay Mallya keen to keep Scot Paul di Resta, the competition for the remaining race seat looks to be between Hulkenberg and Sutil. 

"I have settled in well at Force India and I definitely have a realistic chance of racing again in 2012 and even some other teams are showing interest," Hulkenberg told Auto Bild Motorsport.

  

Sutil himself is well aware of the threat posed by Hulkenberg but insists he remains the best option for the team.

"He did very well at Williams last year and deserves another chance," said Sutil. 

"Of course I hear things about me (going) somewhere else, but I'm a loyal person and my first contact will be Force India. We are well on our way, we are currently the fifth best team and with an extremely small budget. Why should I go?"

Source:en.espnf1.com

Coulthard: Di Resta set for long F1 career

David Coulthard holds every confidence that fellow Scotsman Paul di Resta will remain in Formula 1 for the long-term. The rookie Force India driver has impressed this season, with points finishes in his first two Grands Prix and a career-best result of seventh in Hungary at the end of July.

With eight points to his name, di Resta is currently joint 15th in the Drivers’ Championship and tied with fellow 2011 newcomer Sergio Pérez.

“I'm delighted,” Coulthard, who retired from F1 at the end of 2008, told the Brands Hatch website of his compatriot. “I knew he was a great driver; I hoped that he would be able to establish himself over the course of the season, but I genuinely didn't expect him to be able to do that so quickly.

“There's no question that he has set the foundation for a good, long career in F1. A lot depends on just how Force India progress and what decisions he makes on where he drives in the future.”

Di Resta stepped up as 2010 DTM Champion, with Coulthard himself now competing in what is German’s premier touring car series alongside a raft of other talents.

“There's no question that Gary Paffett has the experience of F1 because he has tested for McLaren for so many years,” Coulthard continued. “I don't know, with Jenson (Button) and Lewis (Hamilton) there, if he's ever going to get that chance; but nonetheless if he didn't that's a loss, as he would have been a very good F1 driver.

“As for the others I don't know how good they were in single seater racing - Vietoris is racing in GP2 and progressing there. There are some people that are more suited to touring cars than single-seaters and you would say, arguably at the moment, that I've been better suited to single-seaters than touring cars! But I'm enjoying the journey.”

Source:gpupdate.net