I'm feeling very positive about this race - Sutil
Having been the most consistent and best performing driver in the Force India squad, Adrian Sutil heads into this weekends Turkish GP with his head held high and in a very positive mood. As always he's hoping for more points in order to catch the Renault team in the constructors championship, and to beat Micheal Schumacher whom is only two points above.
Adrian, Monaco was ultimately a good event, with another points scoring finish. How would you view the weekend now, one week on? "We can be quite positive about the weekend. We looked strong all weekend, on a pace with the top teams for a lot of the time. It was a shame that we couldn’t replicate this in qualifying, but the most positive is that I knew the car was capable of more and that the position we started in wasn’t representative of the performance we had. In the race I was able to make up places at the start and then at the pit stop and we can be really happy with P8 in the end. What pleases me most is that we have a car that now performs on all types of tracks, both high and low downforce. Last year in places like Monaco and Hungary we struggled a bit, but this year we’re up there in the top ten. Consistency is the key this year and I’m really happy with the position we’re in – we don’t go to tracks thinking we’re going to be weak, or off the pace – we go to each track thinking ‘Q3 and points for sure.’ It really changes that mindset, not just for me but for the people in the garage and at the factory as well."
What comes next for you, what are your next aims? "In Turkey we have some new developments we are aiming to test and then introduce for the race, including changes to the front wing and to the mirrors to optimise the position used for the first time in China. We’ve seen in previous races that the top teams aren’t going for major upgrade packages, they are drip feeding improvements, and that’s why it’s so important to keep these steps coming through. I’m feeling very positive about this race."
Is it one of your more favoured tracks? "I’ve gone well in Turkey before, getting into Q2 when we didn’t expect it last year. It’s a balance of high speed corners and technical sections, but it’s a real rollercoaster and turn eight is awesome. This year it’s going to be impressive, you could take it flat out. I think it should be a good track for us as we’re still fast on the straights but the car feels balanced through the corners as well, and you need good traction at this circuit. I hope to pick up some more points at this race to close that gap to Renault."
Interview courtesy of Force India F1
