Main goal for Force India is to score points
The Force India F1 Team enjoyed its best qualifying performance since the Italian Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit as it seeks to seal its best-ever finishing position in the constructors' championship in tomorrow's race. Adrian Sutil will start from 13th after a strong Q2 showing, while Tonio Liuzzi will start 16th as he posted a time more than a second quicker than his 2009 qualifying lap.
Adrian Sutil (car 14): "I am pleased with how qualifying went for us. It was not easy in the last few races but it was a clean lap today, close to the top ten and it puts us in a strong position for the race. The VJM03 worked very well and the balance was good - we could even do three laps on the soft tyre, which is unusual in qualifying. We finished very close to the top ten and now the clear goal is to break into the points. I am convinced we can get up there based on the performance throughout the season - we need a good start and strategy and a race that comes to us. It's not easy but we will push and do our best. We need some points, that's absolutely the main goal."
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15): "We were in good shape today. We didn't have enough for Q3 but we've shown a step in performance from the previous races. The balance was good and with the second set of tyres it was getting better and better. Unfortunately I got some traffic with Petrov on my last lap in the last sector and lost about three tenths, which cost us at least a position or two. We do know though that the car is quick and I think we are in good shape and for the race tomorrow."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "A very good performance from the team today. Last year we struggled to get out of Q1 and today we were just under three tenths from Q3, showing just how much we have improved over the past 12 months. It also demonstrates just how hard everyone has worked and is a real fillip going into tomorrow's race. We are in a good position to get into the points, our race pace has been very strong and we're all hungry to get back into sixth again. If we can finish the season with only teams who have previously won the constructors' championship ahead of us it's going to be the icing on the cake for what's been a great season for us so far."
Adrian Sutil (car 14, VJM03/03):
FP3: 15th 1:42.587 (18 laps)
Q1: 15th 1:41.473 (10 laps)
Q2: 13th 1:40.914 (8 laps)
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15, VJM03/02):
FP3: 16th 1:42.858 (14 laps)
Q1: 16th 1:41.681 (10 laps)
Q2: 16th 1:41.642 (8 laps)
