Di Resta counts on mixed weather to take points
A strong showing by Force India saw Adrian Sutil qualify in P8 for his home race, while Paul Di Resta will line up in P12. The latter marginally missed Q3 but all in all the team continued on its improved performance in Silverstone two weeks ago.
Adrian Sutil, VJM04/04, P8, Q1: 1:32.286, Q2: 1:31.809, Q3: 1:32.010:
“Another strong qualifying performance for us and it’s great to be starting my home race from P8. My Q3 lap was good, although a couple of tenths slow slower than my Q2 lap, but it wouldn’t have changed my overall position. My laps in Q2 and Q3 were pretty much perfect and I feel I got the maximum from the car. The balance has been good all weekend; I feel confident in the car and I really like this circuit. So I’m excited about the race tomorrow and really looking forward to it. We just have to wait and see what happens with the weather.”
Paul Di Resta, VJM04/02, P6, Q1: 1:32.651, Q2: 1:32.560:
“It was quite a tough day for me. I couldn’t really get the tyres to work when it mattered and I was struggling with a lack of grip in both Q1 and Q2. I seem to have lost some ground to Adrian compared to yesterday so perhaps one of the directions we took overnight hasn’t quite worked out. We need to analyse that and hopefully try and improve for tomorrow. As for the race, the unsettled forecast means it’s unlikely to be a straightforward race. I still hope we can fight for points because our long run pace has looked quite strong. Also my set-up is more race-orientated, which will hopefully play into our hands.”
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal:
“Today’s performance once again shows just how competitive we have become over the last few races. The pace of the car is genuine and both drivers are doing a good job of extracting it. This is a home race for Adrian and we are all delighted to see him qualify in P8 – a target we felt was realistic before the session. Paul lines up in P12 and did not feel totally comfortable with his car this afternoon. Even so, I’m confident that both drivers can be in the hunt for points tomorrow afternoon. The big unknown will be the weather because rain is a real possibility, but I’m determined to see us realise our potential and score points that reflect our pace.”
