Belgian GP - Qualifying - Force India Drivers Quotes

Sergio Perez, 5th
“It’s been a really good day and I am very satisfied with my lap in Q3. We were able to improve the car balance from yesterday and this gave me a whole lot of confidence - probably the most I have had this season. The car was much more predictable and this allowed me to push more in every corner. I showed very good pace in each of the three qualifying sessions and I am really looking forward to the race tomorrow. I see no reason why we cannot fight for the podium. The performance today also gives me a lot of optimism for the remainder of the season. The team is doing an amazing job and I am happy I was able to back it up with a good performance behind the wheel. I have been working hard with my engineers to get on top of the updated car and I expect to do this weekend after weekend.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 11th
“I’m not that happy today because we had the potential to be well inside the top ten. On my final lap in Q2 I made a small mistake going into turn one – I just locked the tyres and missed the apex. On top of that we had a small issue with the turbo, which cost us some speed and time down the straights. So I just missed out on making Q3. However, the weekend is not lost and I’m sure we can have a strong race from P11. The car has been performing very well this weekend; we’ve looked competitive and I will be attacking in the race to try and move forward.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director
“It has been very satisfying to see the updated VJM08 looking so competitive here at Spa and Sergio delivered a fantastic performance today. Starting from the second row gives us every chance to score some good points tomorrow and even challenge for the podium. I’m sure Nico would have been up there too had he managed a clean lap, but I expect him to move up the order in the race. It’s important that we convert the performance today into a strong result tomorrow.”

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Belgian GP - Friday Practice - Force India Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
FP1 - 12th, FP2 - 6th

“The car felt pretty good and I am fairly happy with the baseline set-up. Obviously, we will need to keep working, fine-tuning the balance and trying to find the last few tenths of performance, but I think we’re in a good place going into the weekend. The red flags in the afternoon meant we didn’t get all the long-run data and we will head into the race without the best knowledge of how the tyres will behave, but that's the same for everyone.”
Sergio Perez
FP1 - 9th, FP2 - 11th
“It was a really productive day despite the disruption that the red flags brought towards the end of FP2. We were able to get some good information, perhaps not as much as we would have wanted on the long runs, but overall I am happy with the day. We took two very different set-up directions with the two cars, which means we have plenty of data to analyse tonight, but I am confident for tomorrow.”
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“We are satisfied with our first day of work here in Spa. This is a unique track when it comes to car balance: there aren't many low-speed corners so the majority of our work focussed on finding the optimal balance for the medium and high-speed corners, and I believe we made some good progress. We continued evaluating the b-spec evolutions in the morning session and the drivers were pretty happy with the balance of the car straight away. The afternoon was a bit more complicated with the red flags: the first half went according to plan and we were able to evaluate some solutions to respond to the high track temperatures. Our long run data was compromised by the red flags but we expect a lot of people to be in the same boat. There's a lot of work still to be done but we're in a good place so far."

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Belgian GP - Force India Preview Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
 
“The summer break was very relaxing for me. My schedule has been extra busy this year so it was nice to stay at home for a few weeks and just switch off and relax. Even though it’s only been a month since the last race, you miss being in the car and the buzz of racing, so I’m definitely ready to begin the second half of the season.

“Spa is a favourite for all the drivers. When I think of driving there it just makes me smile because it’s got so many special high-speed corners - the corners you want to experience in a Formula One car. You’ve also got the history of the place and the unpredictable weather which often helps spice up the racing.

“We go there hoping to bounce back from a tough race in Hungary. The improvements we’ve made to the car will really help us in Spa, especially through the high-speed corners. The engine also plays a big part around the lap. We are competitive and I am confident we can start the second part of the season strongly.”

Sergio Perez
“The break was a good opportunity to recharge my batteries and spend some time at home with my family. The calendar is pretty busy and we don't often get the chance to have some time for ourselves. However, I am really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and doing what I really love.

"Spa is an amazing track and I enjoy racing there. The first sector and the run through Eau Rouge feel very special in a Formula One car and it’s definitely a highlight of the year. The track can also produce really good racing because there are a few corners where you have a good chance to overtake.

“I think the characteristics of the track and its emphasis on power and top speed should suit our car. You also have to expect wet weather at some point during the weekend so it could be quite unpredictable. We have shown some good pace in the last few races and we should be in a position to get a good result.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“The summer break has given us a chance to regroup following a challenging race in Budapest. The whole team has worked extremely hard to repair the cars and solve the problems that we encountered in Hungary, and we’re ready to bounce back this weekend in Spa.

“Although the Hungarian Grand Prix was disappointing, I prefer to focus on the positives, especially the strong pace we showed in the first half of the race. We saw that the VJM08 is capable of running comfortably inside the top ten, which gives us confidence for the second half of the season. There remains an upbeat feeling in the team and I think we can look forward to some competitive races to come.

“Returning to Spa is always special because it’s one of those tracks that truly captures the imagination. The drivers love to race here and it’s a favourite with the fans too. We expect to be in good shape this weekend and we will be aiming for Q3 on Saturday and good points on Sunday.”

Formula1.com 
 

Force India certain of design integrity

The Force India Formula 1 team's reliability and design integrity has not been compromised by its two failures at the Hungarian Grand Prix, says deputy team principal Bob Fernley.

The team introduced a B-spec car at the British Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg giving the machine a double-points scoring debut.

But the Hungarian GP weekend was tougher. Perez rolled the car in first practice after a right-rear suspension failure and Hulkenberg crashed during the race after his front wing failed.

Force India identified the problem that afflicted Perez and introduced a fix for the following day and Fernley echoed chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer's belief the team will find a fix for the issue on Hulkenberg's car.

When asked if he was completely confident there will be no repeat, Fernley told 
AUTOSPORT: "Completely.

"Reliability and design integrity are two of the key strengths of Force India, and I don't think that has been compromised.

"It's just unfortunate it was a weekend when we had a couple of incidents that were high profile."

There are three-and-a-half weeks until the next race, which takes place in Belgium, and Fernley is confident that will give the team enough time for a complete analysis into the incidents, despite the mandatory two-week factory shutdown falling within that period.

"We'll have those all finished off this week, and we don't expect anything major," he said.

"We can expect a slight strengthening of the parts in different areas and then we will be fine."

Autosport.com

Hulkenberg sure Force India can fix car issues

Nico Hulkenberg believes his Force India Formula 1 team will get to the bottom of the dramatic front wing failure that caused his Hungarian Grand Prix crash.

The German hit the barriers at Turn 1 when his front wing failed at high speed and it was the team's second big accident of the weekend after Sergio Perez rolled in practice following a suspension failure.

Force India believes both failures were caused by big vibrations from riding over the Hungaroring kerbs for too long.

Hulkenberg, who was on course to score points, said he was confident the team could solve the problems before the next race at Spa at the end of August.

"It's two different issues we had over the weekend and it's not good," he said.

"I'm sure the team will work hard on how to understand it and get some fixings in place.

"I've no doubt our boys will fix it come Spa. We have some time to analyse and fix it.

"The situation is what it is and we just have to deal with it as best we can."

Despite following up a run of two consecutive double-points finishes with a double retirement in Hungary, Force India retained fifth place in the constructors' championship.

And Hulkenberg remains hopeful the team can be competitive in the second-half of the season.

"I go on holiday with the feeling the second half of the season is going to be very good because we've improved the car significantly," he said.

"I really enjoy driving the car and we are competitive.

"In Budapest we were battling with Williams and Red Bull, which is really, really good.

"I'm enjoying myself at the moment and I'm looking forward to the second half of the season."

Autosport.com 
 

Kerbs likely cause of Hulkenberg crash

Force India believes Nico Hulkenberg's dramatic front wing failure in the Hungarian Grand Prix was probably caused by vibrations over kerbs at the Hungaroring Formula 1 circuit.
Hulkenberg crashed out of the race at Turn 1 when his front wing failed at high speed, sending him into the tyre wall.

It was the second big accident of the weekend for Force India, after Sergio Perez rolled in free practice following a suspension failure from running over the kerbs too much.

Force India will investigate Hulkenberg's failure, but the team's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer reckons it was also caused by the kerbs.

"We're investigating how and why it failed and I think it's got something to do with the unique inputs the car gets here over the kerbs and the rumble strips," Szafnauer told AUTOSPORT.

"We don't test anywhere else like this so you can't just test and say you'll be fine there [in Hungary].

"This is the only circuit like this, and Ferrari had a front wing failure too [with Kimi Raikkonen in practice], and Kimi also lost a camera pod in the race.

"That's all down to vibrations and how you mount the parts."

Szafnauer added changes may need to be made to the kerbs, but Force India will also strengthen its parts.

"Whether they change [the circuit] or we change the car to suit, you've got to do one of the two," he said.

"We've not had anything like this before, and it's tough because the pace of the car has really improved.

"We can definitely fix this and come back and be reliable. The wishbone is already fixed and we'll fix the wing."

Hulkenberg was battling with the Red Bulls - which both finished on the podium - earlier in the race, and Force India feels it let a very good result slip away.
 
"To have something like this happen when there are opportunities for us and to not take it, that's tough," said Szafnauer.

"When Nico's wing failed we were ahead of Kvyat - I don't think Kvyat was ahead of us the whole race.

"Could we have kept him behind us? Nico thinks maybe, maybe not.

"I hate to say we'd have been on the podium, but we were there or thereabouts with Kvyat."

Force India changed Perez's front wing mid-race as a precaution, and the Mexican retired from the race due to a long brake pedal late-on. 

Autosport.com 

HungarianGP - Race - Force India Driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, DNF

“It’s a shame we lost the opportunity to get a great result today. I didn’t have much warning that there was a problem with the front wing - there was a harsh vibration just before it broke and after that I was heading straight into the barriers. The final impact was not too bad because that part of the track is well protected and it absorbed the energy nicely. Up until the accident, things were looking very positive: I had made a great start and was racing with the Red Bulls, which shows the step forward we have made with the b-spec car. The good news is that we have time over the next week to analyse what happened today and get the solutions in place before the summer break. Reliability has been a real strength of ours this season so it’s unusual for us to have these issues and the team will do its homework before we arrive in Spa. I go into the summer break knowing that we are competitive and that we can have a strong second half of the season.”

Sergio Perez, DNF

“It was a really tough weekend for us, from the Friday to the Sunday. We have a lot of reasons to be disappointed about the race because I feel we could have scored some really big points. The first few laps were very strong and we made up a lot of positions, but the contact with Pastor [Maldonado] compromised my race. I was as cautious around him as I could be and left him plenty of room but unfortunately it wasn't enough. After that, getting points was always going to be a challenge and ultimately some brake issues put an end to our race. Looking at the positives, up until the clash with Pastor the car performed very strongly and this gives me the confidence we can really challenge for good results in the second part of the season.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer

“It has been a difficult day and it’s disappointing to come away from Budapest empty-handed. Nico was on course for a good helping of points until he suffered an issue with the front wing on the approach to turn one. We are still looking into what caused the wing to break, but the most important thing is that Nico is perfectly okay. Sergio’s afternoon suffered after Maldonado made contact with him after Sergio had passed him going into turn one. That incident cost us a lot of time and resulted in some damage to the right side of Sergio’s car. As the race continued, he was suffering with a long brake pedal and we had to retire the car. Sometimes in racing things don’t go your way and this was certainly an unlucky weekend. We will regroup ahead of Spa and come back stronger for the second half of the season.”

Formula1.com