Di Resta: Force India pace genuine

Paul di Resta believes that Force India's pace in practice for the European Grand Prix was genuine after a strong start to the weekend for the team.

The British driver was sixth quickest in the afternoon session, with his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg second fastest behind pacesetter Sebastian Vettel.

Di Resta said the team had done nothing different to previous practice sessions, and claimed that Force India had simply been very strong from the outset.

"We are not doing anything different to a normal Friday, we are not running 10 kilos [of fuel]," said di Resta. "Since we have hit the track we've been competitive and right near the top.

"Straight from the first run this morning to the last run we have been where we had to be, and probably could have been the quickest car at the beginning of the session and went straight out on the medium compound. Hopefully it carries on until tomorrow."

He added: "I think you can see it has been a reasonable day. We are happy. We purpled the middle sector on both laps, but on both laps I found myself coming across Jenson [Button] in the last sector and never improved in the last sector so if you put a couple of tenths on we look very competitive.

"Had we put it all together, it was looking fairly positive, but it could all change tomorrow. I think that given where we have been all day we should be pretty happy."

Di Resta's comments were backed up by McLaren's drivers Button and Lewis Hamilton, who think the Force India VJM05 is surprisingly fast around the Valencia street circuit.

"Force India is extremely quick, and really we haven't seen that all year, so it seems like somebody else is having their opportunity this weekend," said Button.

"They're a little bit of a surprise. They've been the team that's been almost competitive but not quite there, and here they seem to be very competitive."

Hamilton added: "The Force India is unbelievably quick today. I don't know where they found their time."

Di Resta said his team had learned important lessons from the previous race in Canada, where the team had a difficult time.

"I think Canada has taught us a lot. Our approach here, whether it will compromise us more than other people we don't know. We have not been quite selfish, but gone down exactly where we think we will be for the whole weekend, not just today. This is a direction we are going to go. We haven't changed our thought process."

Source: Autosport.com

Europe preview quotes - Force India

Paul di Resta, Force India
2011 Qualifying - 12th, 2011 Race - 14th
“It’s a mix between a street circuit and a normal track and it’s got a lot of corners to go with it - maybe the most corners of any circuit on the calendar. The track is very smooth but it’s tricky to get on top of the set-up and if you don’t find the sweet spot it can make quite a big difference to your lap time across such a long lap. The main challenge is to be strong in the low-speed chicanes and also through the high-speed end of the lap. There are some big braking zones too followed by big traction zones, so the degradation rate is quite high, which is why it’s hard to manage the rear tyres through the race. It’s a fun place to visit. The city has nice architecture, some great restaurants and we stay next to the beach so I sometimes go for a jog in the morning. City races usually provide a good atmosphere on race day and there are always lots of British fans who come along and show their support.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
“My race there in 2010 was not a particularly happy one. There was some bodywork burning away and I eventually had to retire. I’m looking forward to going back to Valencia because I like the track, even though we’ve seen how difficult it is to overtake there. The track has are a few special corners in the final sector of the lap and it’s enjoyable to drive. It’s also quite a long lap with 25 corners so it can be quite difficult to get a perfect lap together.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“The teams that we have been comparable with in the past few years like Sauber and Williams have been on the podium, and I’m sure our time will come, as long as we get things right. It’s something we need to do sooner rather than later because we are quickly approaching the midway point of the season. I hope we can recapture our form in Valencia, return to the points and demonstrate our potential.”


Source: Formula1.com

'We still need to lift our game' - Mallya

Force India boss Vijay Mallya has called on his team to up its game this season and take the fight to the likes of Sauber and Williams for podiums.

Force India has scored 28 points in seven races, but lies eighth in the constructors' championship behind rivals Sauber and Williams, which have both finished in the top three at races this year. Force India targeted fifth in the constructors' championship at the start of the year, and after both cars failed to finish in the points at the last race in Canada, team principal Mallya has highlighted the importance of scoring a big points haul soon.

"I think Canada showed once again that Formula One is hard to predict at the moment," he said. "It's seriously competitive with seven different winners in seven races, all of which is great for the sport - I would certainly go along with that. But while it's hard to predict, we still need to lift our game, especially if we want to target fifth or sixth in the constructors' championship. Yes, we've had one of our best starts to a season ever in terms of points scored, but the teams around us have also performed exceptionally well."

Mallya said Force India, which has only finished on the podium once before at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, must get another top three result soon.

"The teams that we have been comparable with in the past few years like Sauber and Williams have been on the podium, and I'm sure our time will come, as long as we get things right. It's something we need to do sooner rather than later because we are quickly approaching the midway point of the season. I hope we can recapture our form in Valencia [this weekend], return to the points and demonstrate our potential."

Source: En.espnf1.com

Di Resta: Canada to reveal potential

Paul di Resta believes that the Canadian Grand Prix will offer the best indication yet of Force India's potential.

Despite two double points finishes (Malaysia and Monaco), Force India is currently languishing eighth in the constructors standings, 13 points behind Sauber and 16 behind Williams.

However, di Resta remains upbeat about the potential of the Force India, and expects this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix to prove the VJM05's potential.

"It wasn't a secret that we struggled at the beginning of the year compared to what we first thought, but we rapidly moved on," he said.

"We brought a good update to Barcelona and we brought that forward. [In] Monaco [it] was difficult to understand that much more, but here will give us a better indication of what to expect for the forthcoming races.

"We feel we are a bit behind Sauber and Williams at the moment and to overcome them we need to do the maximum job in the races, and that is what we need to do this weekend."

Di Resta is also confident that Force India can continue developing its car well into the season, just as it did in 2011.

"We need to understand the car a bit more in terms of upgrades, that is what we are trying to achieve. I have every confidence team will achieve that - last year our development rate went very high from mid-season and I hope we can do that again.

"I don't think we are getting the maximum out of the car yet."

Source: Autosport.com

Force India Canada preview quotes

Paul di Resta, Force India
2011 Qualifying - 11th, 2011 Race - 18th
“It’s quite an unusual track with some long straights and you need good top speed to be competitive. We run a special low-downforce package, similar to the one we use for Monza, so the car feels quite different and a bit loose without all the downforce. It always takes a few laps to get used to things again.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
“It’s one of my favourites and I love Montreal as a city. There’s a good atmosphere because the whole place gets behind the race and the city is always full of fans. It’s quite an unusual circuit being a mix between a permanent track and a street circuit, so there are lots of corners where the walls are very close. It’s easy to make a mistake because you have to use the kerbs and get close to the walls to get a good lap. It’s two years since I raced there, but I was able to do Friday practice last year.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“As for Canada this weekend, we’ve had good and bad times in Montreal in recent years. We were competitive there in 2010, but last year I believe we threw away some certain points. Hopefully we’ll redeem ourselves this year.”


Source: Formula1.com

Force India sure it can surprise too

Force India is adamant that there is no reason why it cannot emulate the likes of Lotus, Sauber and Williams by challenging at the front in Formula 1 this year - even though it only has one top-six finish to show from 2012 so far.

The wildly unpredictable 2012 F1 season has seen a host of surprise names at the front of the field, with Pastor Maldonado giving Williams victory in Spain, Sauber coming close to a Sepang triumph with Sergio Perez, and Lotus in contention for wins at Sakhir and Catalunya.

Force India has been unable to emulate its regular upper-midfield peers' underdog shocks to date, but team boss Vijay Mallya believes the squad's package is no worse than its usual rivals' and is sure that Force India can be at the front too when it hits on the Pirelli tyres' 'sweet spot' as others have.

"I believe this unpredictability has crept in largely because of the tyres and it's making for some entertaining races. That's why we're working especially hard to understand the tyres better to make sure we get the best out of them," said Mallya.

"If we can find the sweet spot I hope we can enjoy our own special results in the races to come."

Although Force India is currently only eighth in the standings, Mallya says its current score and its tally of seven points finishes in the opening six rounds between drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg is respectable.

"Six races into the season and we have 28 points - a very strong start to the year," said Mallya. "Both drivers are delivering what we expect of them and we're gaining some momentum, just as we did last year. Our car is clearly competitive and so are the drivers.

"I'm very pleased with the way things went in Monaco with both cars in the points. It was our second double points finish of the season and the result brings us much closer to our nearest competitors, Sauber and Williams.

"We have our eyes focused on closing the gap further and I believe we have the pace to get on terms with them in the points race soon."

Di Resta agreed that while Force India might not have achieved the same highs as other midfield teams so far, that did not mean its general performance level was lower.

"The teams around us are all strong, but we've shown that we are consistent and can take on teams like Lotus, Williams and Sauber, who are all looking competitive," said the Scot.

"In terms of points scored we are well ahead of where we were this time last year we take a lot of positives from that. I believe we can keep picking up points and be even stronger in the second half of the year."

Source: Autosport.com

Force India can keep improving - di Resta

Paul di Resta believes that Force India can use its consistency to be "even stronger in the second half of the year".

Seventh place in Monaco was di Resta's fourth points finish in six races this season, giving him 21 points and leaving the team just 14 behind Williams in sixth place in the constructors' championship. At this stage last year Force India had scored ten points - of which di Resta contributed two - and having seen the team improve markedly throughout the season di Resta said it is starting from a much stronger base this time around.

"I think we've demonstrated that we can carry on where we left off last year and fight for points everywhere," di Resta said. "The teams around us are all strong, but we've shown that we are consistent and can take on teams like Lotus, Williams and Sauber, who are all looking competitive. In terms of points scored we are well ahead of where we were this time last year so we take a lot of positives from that. I believe we can keep picking up points and be even stronger in the second half of the year."

Team principal Vijay Mallya agreed that the target was now to improve the car in order to reel in Sauber and Williams.

"Six races into the season and we have 28 points - a very strong start to the year," Mallya said. "Both drivers are delivering what we expect of them and we're gaining some momentum, just as we did last year. Our car is clearly competitive and so are the drivers.

"I'm very pleased with the way things went in Monaco with both cars in the points. It was our second double points finish of the season and the result brings us much closer to our nearest competitors, Sauber and Williams. We have our eyes focused on closing the gap further and I believe we have the pace to get on terms with them in the points race soon."

Source: En.espnf1.com