Belgian GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Force India seem to be continuing the momentum gathered before the summer break, with both cars comfortably making Q3. Qualifying sixth and seventh, it was Perez who just had the edge over his team mate by one tenth of a second. A good result here could close the gap in the constructors' standing to Williams, who currently lie fourth, 15 points ahead of Force India. 

Sergio Perez, 6th, 1:47.407
“I think we are in a really strong position for the race and I am really looking forward to tomorrow. We got as much as we could out of the session: I made a small mistake at the end of my lap and I could have been about a tenth faster, but that’s all we lost. Some of the cars ahead of me are starting on the soft tyre compound, which should be a big advantage for them, but we are still in good shape to get a strong result. There will be a variety of strategies at play and I hope we can move forward, enjoy the battles and bring home some points. The hot weather is making it really difficult for everyone – you reach a point where you can’t go any further with the tyres. Strategy and making the right calls at the right time will be very important: you don’t want to be on the wrong tyres at the start of such a long lap because it’s going to cost you.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 7th, 1:47.543
“I’m reasonably satisfied with our performance today. Q1 and Q2 went to plan, but I had an issue with the power unit during Q3 and that cost me some time down the straights and proved quite costly. We’ve got to start the race on the supersoft tyres, but I think we made the right decision to use them in Q2 because it would have been difficult to make Q3 on the softs. It’s certainly going to be a challenging race if the weather stays this warm because Spa is already a demanding track on tyres in cool conditions. We need to explore our options tonight and make the right decisions tomorrow.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“It was satisfying to see our strong form in free practice carried into qualifying with both Sergio and Nico delivering some excellent laps. Nico had a sensor issue, which cost him a few tenths on his runs in Q3, but overall we can’t be disappointed with sixth and seventh on the grid. Tomorrow’s race will be dictated by tyre strategy so we need to wait and see if the high temperatures continue for the race. We’ve shown that we are competitive and we are well placed to pick up some good points tomorrow.”

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Belgian GP - Friday - Force India Quotes

Hulkenberg was very happy with a day which started well and got better with every move he and the team made. Perez was a little less effusive and said there were lots of little things to do, but overall this was a tremendous start for the team fighting for fourth in the world championship for constructors.

Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:50.088, P8; FP2: 1:48.657, P3
“It was a good start after the summer break. We didn’t have any issues and we were able to work through our programme as planned. We collected the usual data and we made some very good steps between the sessions. I wasn’t too happy with the balance in the morning, but we were able to improve it for the afternoon: it’s still not perfect, so there’s a bit of work to do overnight, trying to use the information we got today, but it’s a decent starting point.”

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:49.274, P4; FP2: 1:49.100, P5
“The first indications are positive, but there’s still a lot of work to be done on the car to solve a few little issues. We need to understand the car balance a bit more and develop our set-up from there. The weather is going to play a big role: it will affect tyre degradation strongly, but I am sure we will be able to make the changes we need for the race.”

Robert Fernley, deputy team principal
“It’s only Friday, so there is no getting carried away with the practice results. It’s not easy to read the relative performance levels of the teams around us, especially when teams are experimenting with different wing levels or running development tyres. Today we simply focussed on our work: we collected all the data we needed and we got some good feedback from the drivers. They are happy with the car balance, but there is still room to improve. We will need to make some adjustments based on the weather, which is unexpectedly warm, although the forecast for the weekend is a bit cooler. It’s been a productive day, but what really matters is our performance tomorrow and on Sunday.”

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Belgian GP - Preview - Force India Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
"It's nice to get back to action after a month without racing. Holidays are fun – you spend time with your friends, take your mind off work and recharge your batteries – but nothing beats the thrill of a Formula One car. So it's great to be back, and I can't think of a better place to return to racing than Belgium.
"Spa is one of the best tracks out there. It may sound like a cliche, but it really is great fun to drive it - it's up there with Suzuka. It's got great flow, lots of challenging and ballsy corners, high speeds and changes of elevation. It's just a great place. Everyone talks about Eau Rouge, but my favourite corner in Spa is Pouhon – the very quick downhill double-left hander. Eau Rouge and Raidillon are legendary, but they're not the challenge they used to be.
"For all the excitement on track, Belgium is one of the quietest weekends off it. It's the opposite of some of the “lifestyle” events like Barcelona, Budapest or Montreal – but it's a nice change to have some more relaxed events. Hopefully we will be able to pick up where we left off in Germany and continue showing our points-scoring form."

Sergio Perez
"The summer break was a great opportunity to relax, especially as this season is quite long and the races don't leave us too much time to recover. It was nice to spend some time in Mexico, with my family, my dogs and my friends: it's always great to go home and I can't wait to be back there later in the year when we come racing in Mexico City.
"Spa is one of the most historical tracks; one of those kids dream about, with legendary corners like Eau Rouge. You never get a boring race there. There are many fast corners and you pay a price for all mistakes because it's an old-school track with not much run-off. It's one of the circuits where the driver can make a difference and bravery is rewarded. I have got some great memories from Spa: I won there in GP2 and I had a battle for the lead against Hamilton on the first lap last year.
"The key to being fast around Spa is having a good rhythm and enough downforce to be quick in the corners without losing too much on the straights. You want to be able to attack and defend in sector one, but not have too little wing to be struggling in the twisty parts of sector two. It's a fine balance you need to strike and it can make or break your weekend.
"We have been really strong in the last few races before the break and hopefully we can keep this form in the second part of the season. Being in the battle for fourth place in the championship gives us a lot of motivation and we approach every weekend knowing we can be strong. I am enjoying my driving and working with the team, and I think we have everything in place to be competitive this weekend."

Vijay Mallya, team principal
"We are performing well and delivering results, and Spa represents a good opportunity to continue our run of points finishes. The updates we introduced at Silverstone have made a difference and there is still more performance to be extracted from our chassis. I think all teams have now switched their focus to 2017 so the pecking order should not change dramatically. Some tracks will suit us more than others, but Spa is certainly a track where the VJM09 can be strong.
"I regard our podium in Monaco as the turning point of our season – both in terms of the result and our public perception. Then, our strong showing in Baku just reinforced the great job we are doing as a team. It's a fierce battle in the midfield, but we are performing well. Since Monaco we have scored 67 points compared to the 31 of our nearest rival. If we continue scoring at this rate, it will be interesting to see where we can end the season."

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Hulkenberg expecting “intense” fight with Williams and McLaren

While McLaren is some way behind Williams and Force India in the constructors’ table, the Woking team’s improved form means that the three teams are likely to be competing on track for the rest of the season.
 
Hulkenberg says he’s looking forward to the fight with Williams for fourth place. “Very much, and also McLaren from my point of view,” he said in Germany.

“I’ve seen Jenson [Button] a fair bit in my mirror today, and I have to say the car looks pretty good.

"I expect a really tight battle between the three of us from now until the end of the season, so I think it’s going to be quite intense now.”

At Hockenheim, Hulkenberg scored crucial points for Force India finishing seventh and cut the constructors’ gap to just 15 when he passed Valtteri Bottas after the Finn’s two-stop strategy proved unsuccessful.

“Tyre degradation was really high, so you had to do a lot of managing on the tyres, so it was a bit extreme at that moment," added the German.

"But it was a solid race from my side.

"We didn’t get the Williams at the start, but we managed to get him in the end through strategy, and with some help from Williams there, they helped us slightly also!

"A fairly straightforward and lonely race most of the time.”

Hulkenberg insisted he wasn’t disappointed about not being able to challenge Ferrari in the race, despite practice form suggesting that was possible.

“I’ve seen it as well on Friday, things looked close, but they always have something in the pocket, and come race day there’s always something they can ask for and have and we don’t, basically," he said.  

"I wasn’t expecting to be up there with them.”

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German GP - Race - Force India Quotes

Hulkenberg had a strong if quiet race, scoring good points in seventh. Perez had a very slow getaway at the start, dropping down to 16th but from there battled back strongly to finish inside the top ten. His opportunistic pass on Alonso was a great racing move and deservedly grabbed him the last point on offer.

Nico Hülkenberg, 7th
“Seventh was probably the best result available to us today, so it feels good to get the maximum from our race and score some important points. The team did a great job with the strategy because we went into the race believing a two-stopper was possible, but then made an early decision to switch to three stops. It was definitely the right way to go and allowed me to take seventh place in the final few laps. The tyre degradation was very high so most of the race was about managing the tyres. It was also quite a lonely and straightforward race because my main fight was against Bottas and we were running different strategies. So it’s a happy Nico and a happy team. We can look forward to the summer break and aim to carry this momentum forward in the second part of the season.”

Sergio Perez, 10th
“It’s safe to say today was the worst start in my whole career. I had a lot of wheelspin at the start and dropped back to P16 - so it was a long fight back through the pack. The team had to think on their feet and tweak the strategy to get me back into a competitive position. Degradation was quite high, especially when following other cars, and I spent a lot of time in the middle of the race fighting with Fernando [Alonso]. In the last few laps I was running out of tyres, but I knew Fernando was in a similar situation, so when I saw an opportunity I knew I had to take it. I honestly didn’t think we would score points after turn one, but we did it. We go on holiday now, proud of the incredible work we have done as a team in the first half of the season. I am confident we have a lot of good days ahead of us in the final nine races, but for now it’s important to get some rest.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“It’s satisfying to move five points closer to fourth place in the championship and end the first half of the season with a double points finish. When you look at how the race unfolded, there wasn’t much more available to us and the team did an excellent strategic job to help Nico come out on top in the battle against Bottas. Sergio’s race became a recovery drive following a very poor getaway and, all things considered, the team did a good job to pick up the final point. The stage is now set for a very close battle in the second part of the season, but we feel we can grow even stronger in the races to come following the break.”

Formula1.com 

German GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Perez ran wide in FP3, damaging his VJM09. The team fixed the issues swiftly and despite reduced running, he was able to qualify for Q3 along with his team mate. Hulkenberg in front of his home crowd just edged the intra-team battle, grabbing seventh spot to Perez's ninth.

Nico Hülkenberg, 7th, 1:15.510
“I’m feeling pretty happy to qualify in seventh for my home race – it’s best of the rest behind the top three teams and a good effort by the whole team. Our objective is always to maximise our potential and it feels like we achieved that today. Most of my laps in the session came together nicely and my final effort in Q3 was spot on. We can expect a tough fight for good points tomorrow, but we are in a good starting position and we’ve looked strong here in all the sessions. The long run pace is competitive, too, so we’ve got every chance of getting a great result this weekend. There is talk of some rain tomorrow and to be honest I would not mind a shower during the race, but let’s wait and see what happens.”

Sergio Perez, 9th, 1:15.537
“It was a fun and very intense fight with Nico and the two Williams cars throughout qualifying, and in the end it was really close between the four of us. It was crucial to get through Q1 on one set of tyres because some other teams had to use two sets and this gave us a small advantage in Q2, which helped us make the top ten. On my last lap of Q3 I struggled a bit through some of the right-hand corners; I think I may have picked something up on my front wing – maybe some debris – and that cost me some time, but it’s something I will analyse with the team. In the end, it was so close and just a few hundredths of a second made the difference. Tomorrow is going to be interesting. We are starting on the supersofts on which we qualified and we will need to work well as a team to make the strategy work and score some important points.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“Today’s qualifying performance is a good effort from both sides of the garage and sets us up nicely for a strong race tomorrow. The car has shown good speed since the start of practice and it’s satisfying to convert our potential into representative starting positions. In Q3 it was a very close fight with Williams, with Nico just edging ahead of Bottas. There are several strategy options for us to explore this evening, but we are well placed to make the most of whichever approach we take in the race. Tomorrow should bring an interesting and exciting race”

Formula1.com

Gernam GP - Friday - Force India Quotes

Force India were the only team to run the medium tyre in FP1 as they worked on set-up and evaluation before looking for pace in FP2. Both drivers were happy with progress and their potential for the race.

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:18.628, P16; FP2: 1:17.148, P9
"It think we were the only team to run the medium compound today alongside the soft and supersoft, which allowed us to get a lot of data about each of the three different tyres. The mediums are performing quite well, which is a bit of a welcome surprise. It’s still early, but I think the weekend has a lot of potential and we’re in a good position to make the most of it. There are still some areas to improve when it comes to car balance, but we should be able to sort it overnight after looking at the data we collected."

Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:18.591, P15; FP2: 1:16.781, P7
"I am pretty happy with today and it was a fairly straightforward start to the weekend. We ran all morning on the medium compound, which looks like a good tyre, and we worked with the soft and supersoft this afternoon. The pace looks alright and I felt pretty comfortable in the car, especially in the second session as the track improved. There’s obviously still quite a bit of work to get where we want to be, but overall it’s a positive start and I am looking forward to building on it."

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
"We are feeling happy with the work we’ve carried out carry out today, but we remain cautious because the temperatures weren’t as high today as what we are expecting for the rest of the weekend. We evaluated the three different tyre compounds and the updates we brought to the car for this race, and we were able to complete our programme without any issue. The drivers were happy with the balance of the car right from the start, so we were able to concentrate on fine-tuning the set-up to get the most performance out of the VJM09. In the end, we got some positive feedback and that’s always good."

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