Force India satisfied with productive Friday
The Force India F1 Teams Italian Grand Prix preparations got underway today at the historic and atmospheric Monza circuit just outside Milan. All the teams prepare unique low downforce packages for this race, and with no testing, there was a lot of work to do.
As for several other teams, the priority was to evaluate the F-Duct, and Tonio ran both with and without it during the day. Paul di Resta replaced Adrian Sutil for the first session, and completed his first ever laps of Monza. As usual his schedule consisted of circuit familiarisation and the establishment of a good baseline set-up. During the session Pauls cousin and Indycar star Dario Franchitti visited the Force India garage and watched him drive an F1 car for the first time.
Adrian was back in his regular chassis for the afternoon session, and continued Pauls programme of set-up, aero and tyre work.
Adrian Sutil (car 14): "Overall the afternoon went well for me. We did some general tests with balance and wing levels. The balance was OK, but we still not at the pace that I was hoping for and looking for. But anyway tomorrow should be a good day for us."
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15): "It was a very good Friday. We did a lot of work, especially in FP1, to understand and take a decision on the F Duct, to see if it was a benefit or not. In the afternoon we concentrated mainly on tyre work. Overall I think the car balance is not quite right, we still have to work a bit on braking and handling. But we have got a clear picture for tomorrow, and we've tried all the different situations, with and without fuel, with and without the F-Duct. The others have made a step forward compared to last year, so its not going to be an easy race, but were confident that we can score some good points."
Paul di Resta (test and reserve driver): "Its the first time I've driven here, and Monza is clearly quite a special track. One side of the track is very open, and then you are in the middle of the forest in the other part! Its also different because its all high speed, and all braking. It's also the first time I've driven the car in low downforce trim. It's a bit of a shock because the braking stability is not there, and braking areas are longer. I played myself in, and I didnt want to flat spot a tyre or anything, because the circuit was going to improve at the end of the session. I think its quite promising so far. As usual I would love to have gone out in the second session, but at least its another track Ive learned!"
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: "We had great conditions in Monza today. It was a very productive day, with Paul and Tonio running in the first session, and Adrian taking over to run alongside Tonio in the afternoon. Obviously we are looking at downforce levels and rear wing set-up for the high-speed nature of the track. We've been evaluating our Monza aero package, and generally were very pleased with how its gone. Its very close amongst the teams from P4 onwards, and overall we think our race performance looks fairly strong."
Adrian Sutil (car 14, VJM03/03):
FP1: Did not participate
FP2: 11th 1:24.181 (35 laps)
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15, VJM03/01):
FP1: 7th 1:24.512 (19 laps)
FP2: 12th 1:24.380 (36 laps)
Paul di Resta (car 14, VJM03/03)
FP1: 12th 1:24.923 (23 laps)
FP2: Did not participate
