Two points for Sutil at Istanbul as Liuzzi finishes 13th
The Force India F1 Team has secured another points scoring finish in today's thrilling Turkish Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil claimed ninth position for two points, his fourth top ten position of the season, while Tonio Liuzzi finished 13th overall, five places up from his starting position.
Both Adrian and Tonio had good starts off the line and were running in tenth and 15th respectively before the first round of pit stops. Adrian stopped on lap 12 while racing Alonso and Kobayashi however a slight delay with the front right tyre change cost him around three seconds and he dropped back to 13th. Adrian maintained his pace and stayed with the Japanese Sauber driver until he could ultimately regain a position on lap 50. Tenth became ninth when Petrov pitted with a puncture on lap 54.
The two points now bring the team's total to 32 and Adrian's season tally to 22.
Adrian Sutil (car 14): "It was a good race in the end, I enjoyed it. I had a good start and first lap and the only real downside was the pit stop when we lost a few seconds at a crucial time. That's where I lost two positions and had to fight back past Kobayashi. I was quite lucky then to benefit from the tussle between Webber and Vettel and then Alonso and Petrov to make up some places. Ninth position after the weekend we've had is the most we could have done. OK, we probably lost a position due to the time lost in the stop but at this stage any points are good. We still have some developments coming for the next race and our next task is to use the SRW on my car - and once we get these done I think it will be looking really good for the next few races."
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15): "It was a long race, but we knew we would have a difficult one after the qualifying yesterday. We realised that we are struggling with the car and I still don't have the grip. I tried to push hard at the beginning with the strategy but in the end we knew it would be a big job as when you don't have the right grip it's tough. We finished 13th on the road, but the pace was not too bad, particularly at the end. We now need to work back at the factory to understand why it's happening so I can get back in the points again."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "After the various issues we've had over the weekend, it's very satisfying to come away from Turkey with some more points to our name. Adrian drove a great race and richly deserved his points today. Tonio has had a harder weekend and we really need to understand why he's not getting the grip he needs to be able to regain his earlier season form. That will be the focus for next week so when we get to Canada we can have a chance at another double points finish. We've also got some work to do on our SRW and when we do, I hope we'll be mixing it again with the top end."
Adrian Sutil (car 14, VJM03/03):
9th
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15, VJM03/04):
13th
