Dramatic qualifying session for Force India
Force India had a dramatic and disappointing qualifying session today at Silverstone. A brake problem on Adrian Sutil's car caused him to crash off violently, fortunately without any injuries. Giancarlo Fisichella also didn't make Q2 as the session was red flagged at a bad time.
Adrian Sutil’s car developed a brake problem in the final minutes of Q1 going through the ultra-fast Becketts complex, pitching Adrian into a backwards spin off the track and into the tyre barriers. As a precautionary measure Adrian was taken to the circuit’s medical centre and was soon cleared for release with no injuries. The team’s spare chassis will now be prepared for tomorrow’s race.
Giancarlo Fisichella had high hopes of making Q2 for the second time this year and was looking set to achieve it on his final lap of Q1 until the red flag caused by Adrian’s accident made him abort his lap and return to the pits. He will start the 60 lap race from 16th position.
Adrian Sutil, car 20, VJM02/03
FP3: 15th 1:20.548 (15 laps)
Q1: 18th 1:19.909 (10 laps)
"Firstly, I think we have had a good weekend in general and until the accident quite a good qualifying. I had a brake problem and then had no brakes going into the complex. I pushed on the pedal but there wasn’t anything. I tried to avoid a big accident but it was impossible so I crashed really hard. I’m completely OK, I was just taken to the medical centre for some checks as it was a big crash. We’ve now got a lot of work to do on the car. Of course it’s disappointing as both cars lost their positions and definite possibility to go into Q2."
Giancarlo Fisichella, car 21, VJM02/04
FP3: 16th 1:20.572 (17 laps)
Q1: 16th 1:19.802 (10 laps)
"We made an improvement but unfortunately on the last set of tyres, Buemi was in front of me and I slowed down on my first lap. Then on the second lap there was the red flag due to Adrian’s accident and I couldn’t improve. I was looking at a top 12 start so it’s a shame, but it’s just too bad this time. Tomorrow I want to get to the end of the race and it would be nice to score a point but it will be difficult."
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: "Fortunately Adrian is okay, and we take any potential car problem that could cause an accident like that very seriously. We will fully understand what happened and ensure that it is addressed. The cars were clearly fast enough for top 15 and unfortunately both traffic and Adrian’s shunt meant we were denied our deserved starting positions. We can however look forward to a competitive race were we will try to convert our improvement in pace to points."
