Russian GP - Race - Force India Quotes

Contrasting fortunes in the Force India garage- Hulkenberg was forced to retire on the first lap after being tagged by Gutierrez. Perez was also caught up in the action, a rear-right puncture the result of contact with Ricciardo. Despite this, he was able to work his way back into the points with a good recovery drive.

Sergio Perez, 9th
“It’s obviously good to come away with my first points of the year, but without the puncture on lap one the result today could have been so much better. I didn’t get the best start, but I found a good line going into turn two and I was ahead of Ricciardo and Vettel coming out of the corner. Then I realised I had a puncture, which dropped me to the back of the field. After that it was a recovery drive and I managed to get back up to ninth place just behind Grosjean. I had a quicker car and fresher tyres, but he had very good traction and I just couldn’t get close enough to make a move. It’s a shame not to score more points because we did everything right today, but we were just really unlucky. There are lots of positives to take away from this weekend – the great performance in qualifying and the strong race pace. The car is improving and we have some upgrades on the way so I’m feeling optimistic ahead of Barcelona.”

Nico Hülkenberg, DNF
“It was a very frustrating end to my weekend. I got to turn two and felt a big shove from behind: Esteban (Gutierrez) out-braked himself, hit me and spun me around. I was hit by other cars and the damage was too much to even attempt to continue. It’s very disappointing and not the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th race weekend. Hopefully our luck will change soon as we have been very unlucky lately. We should have some upgrades in Spain and I want to be back scoring the points we deserve.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It was another race in which we didn’t fully reap the rewards of our work. Unfortunately, both our drivers fell victim to incidents at turn two, neither of which were their fault. Nico’s race was over immediately, while Sergio had to make his way back to the pits with a puncture and re-joined last. From there on, we were able to display some good pace as Checo made his way through the pack, got back into the points and closed in on Grosjean. Despite having superior pace we couldn’t progress any higher on this track which proved very difficult for overtaking. It means we leave Sochi with mixed emotions. Without the incidents on lap one, we would have been at the front of the midfield pack and with the pace to stay there. At least we can take encouragement from the performance that will help us at the upcoming races, where hopefully we will have a bit more luck and score more consistently.”

Formula1.com
 

Russian GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Third here last year, Perez impressed again in qualifying after a few minor mishaps in FP3, pulling a brilliant lap out of the bag at the end of Q3 to snag seventh. Team mate Hulkenberg never looked as comfortable with his set up as the Mexican, qualifying 13th - and he is far less confident of his race chances too...

Sergio Perez, 7th, 1:37.212
“I am very pleased with our performance today and my final lap in Q3 was fantastic – just when it mattered. We were strong in Q1 and Q2; I was feeling very comfortable in the car and I was able to deliver great laps in each of the sessions. We are making good progress as a team and our pace over one lap is very strong: it will be interesting to see how we perform tomorrow because we have a fast car behind us and it will be a big challenge to hold our position. This is not a track that helps overtaking so there should be some nice battles. We have enough tyres to choose the best strategy tomorrow and I am optimistic we can come away with a nice result.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 13th, 1:37.771
“It was a fairly straightforward qualifying session, but not with the outcome I wanted. I’ve not felt comfortable since I jumped in the car yesterday and it’s been a struggle to find the grip and performance we were expecting. We changed a lot of parts overnight and before qualifying, but it didn’t take us in the direction we needed. Obviously we can’t change the car ahead of the race so I think it’s going to be a tough Sunday considering how close things are in the middle of the grid.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It’s great to see us continue our run of top ten qualifying results with Checo putting in a great lap when it mattered in Q3. We expect him to move up a position with Vettel taking a penalty, so he should line up sixth on the grid. It’s another example of the inherent speed we have in this car and hopefully we can deliver similar race pace tomorrow. Nico’s session was relatively uneventful, but he felt the car was sliding underneath him and that showed in his final qualifying position. There’s still a long race ahead of us and anything can happen tomorrow, but we have our eyes firmly set on scoring some good points with both cars.”

Formula1.com 
 

Russian GP - Friday Practice - Force India Quotes

Both race drivers got through their programmes, though Hulkenberg’s was necessarily halved so that Celis could get another run in FP1.

Nico Hulkenberg - FP2: 1:39.795, P13
“The track conditions were not great this afternoon and the wind made it a bit tricky, but it was the same for everyone and this is what you expect on a track so close to the sea. I still think we have a lot of information to help us make the right tweaks to improve our performance for tomorrow. I am feeling good about the weekend: the track is very enjoyable to drive and it throws quite a few challenges your way.”

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:40.287, P9; FP2: 1:39.867, P14
“It’s still quite early in the weekend, but the first feeling is positive. We completed a busy programme with several long runs, so we already have a good understanding of the tyres. There’s still a bit of work to do in terms of balance, but we should be competitive and fighting for a place in the top ten in qualifying tomorrow.”

Alfonso Celis - FP1: 1:43.432, P22
“I am happy about the work I did today and also about writing a page of Mexican motorsport history together with Sergio and Esteban – with three Mexicans on track. My main priority was to avoid mistakes and complete the programme the team had planned for me. I wanted to take a few more risks compared to Bahrain, but the track conditions were quite tricky and in these circumstances you can’t be selfish – you need to focus and ensure you keep your nose clean. We had a busy programme of aero evaluation and I am happy I was able to deliver the information the team needed.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“All in all, a routine Friday, even though the overcast conditions this morning made the air a bit colder than what is forecast for qualifying and the race. The afternoon was a bit better and we collected all the data we need to analyse this evening. Sergio’s plan focussed more on long run performance, while Nico had a slightly different programme to account for him sitting out FP1. I feel we can get more out of the car in qualifying trim, so that will be our main focus tonight and during FP3. We are happy with the indications we are getting from our long run data, but choosing the right strategy will be crucial because it’s not easy to overtake here and track position counts for a lot.”

Formula1.com

Russian GP - Preview - Force India Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
"I can't believe this weekend is going to be my 100th race weekend in Formula One. Where has the time gone? It's a nice achievement and hopefully I can get a result to make it a weekend to remember.
"The goal is to get some more points on the board in Russia. The last two races have been frustrating for different reasons and I don't think we've shown our full potential yet. In China I really struggled with tyre degradation, but I don't think that will be such an issue at Sochi because it's a much smoother surface."

Sergio Perez
"Going back to Sochi brings back happy memories from our podium last year. I really like the track and they did a good job with the layout. I think every driver enjoys turn three because it's an unusual corner with high energies and a long duration. You can take it flat, but it's the one corner on the track which really takes the life from your tyres.
"I think we can be competitive this weekend. We didn't get things right in China and just missed out on points, so we need to concentrate on improving our race pace. It's often those difficult weekends where you learn the most and see where you can improve, so I'm confident we can be in better shape this weekend."

Vijay Mallya, team principal
"In all honesty we expected more from the start of the season, but for various reasons the cards have not fallen for us. It's worth making a comparison with 2015 because after three races last year we were in a similar position with seven points - one point more than we have this year - and that turned out to be our most successful season ever. With eighteen races to go there is a long season ahead and we have plenty of opportunities to turn around our fortunes.
"There is no doubt that we have an inherently quick car. We've always qualified inside the top ten and Checo lined up seventh on the grid in China. In the race we fell a bit short, so that is one area where we can improve. We are also working hard to bring an upgrade package to Barcelona: it's an aero step and further suspension evolutions, which will bring some performance gains.
"The objective is to be inside the top ten in qualifying and the race. That's a realistic goal and we will be disappointed if we don't come away with some points. We demonstrated last year that we can be competitive in Sochi and it's also the 100th race weekend for Nico and Checo, so we want to celebrate the occasion with a special result."

Formula1.com

Chinese GP - Race - Force India Quotes

Largely a day to forget for Hulkenberg, who received a five-second penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly in the pit lane to add to his earlier grid penalty. The only highlight for him was the fastest lap of the race. Perez ran in the points for most of the afternoon, before being passed by the Toro Rosso's in the closing stages.

Sergio Perez, 11th
“Today things didn’t go our way and the timing of the safety car didn’t help me. The start of the race was really good and things looked very promising. I was up in third place when the safety car came out and we had no option but to pit, which dropped me back into the pack. I had to fight hard because the cars around me were on different tyres and there were some quick cars recovering as well. All of this took a lot of the life from my tyres. There were some entertaining battles during the race and we put up a good fight, but the points finish slipped away in the final part of the race. I think we chose the right strategy and made good choices, but the race didn’t go our way. It’s also clear that we need to keep doing our homework to come back stronger for the next few races.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 15th
“It was a frustrating race in the end, even though the start and the first few laps were great. As the lights went out, I rocketed from P13 up to fifth place, picking up one place after the other. The safety car threw all this good work out the window because I had to stack in the pits behind Checo and dropped right down the order. The dirty air affected us, we had some faster cars coming through and this destroyed my tyres. In fact, tyre degradation was the main story of the day and we appeared to suffer more than some others, which is why I went backwards in the second half of the race. The time penalty was an added blow, but in the end it didn’t make a huge difference to my result: the rules say you shouldn’t slow down coming in, but in the heat of racing it’s hard to gauge if that is giving you an advantage. Ultimately, we didn’t have the pace to get back into the points: it’s something we have to work on and do better in the coming races.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“It’s disappointing to come away from today’s race empty-handed, especially when you consider that we were so well placed in the early laps – up in third and fourth places. The safety car was unfortunate from our perspective as it cost us our track position and left us fighting through traffic to try and recover. We stuck to the planned three-stop race for Sergio and for a while it looked as though we might come away with points. However, he suffered with high degradation on the medium tyres toward the end and dropped out of contention with a handful of laps remaining. With Nico, we threw the dice and switched him to a four-stop strategy, but having lost so much track position from the safety car and subsequent time penalty, his race was heavily compromised. I think this weekend has shown us that we have inherent pace in the car, but we need to work hard to make sure we can deliver that pace consistently over a race distance.”

Formula1.com 
 

Hulkenberg docked three grid places for wheel loss

Nico Hulkenberg has been handed a three-place grid drop for Sunday’s 2016 Formula 1 Pirelli Chinese Grand Prix after his Force India team were found guilty of releasing his car from the pits in an unsafe condition during qualifying.

Hulkenberg’s machine shed its front left wheel at Turn 10 towards the end of the Q2, bringing out the red flags and preventing several drivers from improving their times. The German finished the session in 10th place, though he could take no part in Q3 as his car had already stopped out on circuit.

“To be honest I don’t know what happened," said Hulkenberg, whose team are investigating the cause. "We all saw that the wheel came off, but why and how, I don’t know. It was attached properly when we left the garage because everything felt normal. It didn’t feel loose and there was no indication from the steering.

"When it came off, it happened suddenly, but I was at low speed and could park the car quickly and safely. It’s disappointing because we’ve been competitive here this weekend and I would have liked to be out there during Q3."


Hulkenberg's penalty drops him from 10th to 13th on the grid, promoting Williams’ Felipe Massa to 10th and the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to 11th and 12th respectively. 

Formula1.com 

Chinese GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Both drivers through to Q3 was a good result for Force India, who had a poor race last time out in Bahrain. However, their day was marred by Hulkenberg's left wheel coming loose towards the end of Q2, resulting in a red flag. As a result, Hulkenberg was unable to run in Q3 and the stewards handed him a three-place grid penalty. 

Sergio Perez, 7th, 1:36.865
“I am very happy with the car’s performance this afternoon. Even this morning, in the rain, we looked really competitive and to finish the day in seventh place is a result that shows the potential of our car. We made some steps forward with the balance overnight and we saw the result of that today. The track was slippery in places and it was very easy to make mistakes, but we kept our focus and came away with the result we deserved. It should be an interesting race tomorrow, with a few different strategic choices, and I am optimistic about scoring some good points. Tyre degradation will be one of the key factors in the race, but I feel we have a good understanding of all the compounds and can choose the right strategy.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 10th, 1:37.333
“To be honest I don’t know what happened. We all saw that the wheel came off, but why and how, I don’t know. It was attached properly when we left the garage because everything felt normal. It didn’t feel loose and there was no indication from the steering. When it came off, it happened suddenly, but I was at low speed and could park the car quickly and safely. It’s disappointing because we’ve been competitive here this weekend and I would have liked to be out there during Q3. The race tomorrow is going to be interesting and hopefully things will work out a bit better than today.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“We’ve looked competitive here in all conditions so it was good to see both cars inside the top ten this afternoon. Sergio had a clean session and delivered a good lap in the final moments of Q3 to secure seventh on the grid. It was disappointing to see the issue with Nico’s wheel towards the end of Q2, which prevented him from going out in the final part of qualifying. It’s unusual to see a wheel come off and we need to investigate the issue further to understand exactly what happened. Looking ahead to the race tomorrow, I think we have every reason to be optimistic of scoring points. Hopefully, a clean race will allow us to show the true potential of our car and fight towards the front.”

Formula1.com