Very special moment for Force India F1 Team
During the Friday free practice sessions of the Force India's very first home Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit, the drivers started their track acclimatisation work, the assessment of the aero upgrade and tyre data collection.
Adrian Sutil (VJM04/04)
FP1: P8 1.28.705 23 laps
FP2: P7 1:27.316 34 laps
“We had a good couple of sessions today. We ran an aero upgrade on the car this morning and I could feel the difference in stability straight away, so I think we are going to run it for the race. The circuit is good fun and very nicely done. It has some challenging corners and there seem to be plenty of opportunities to overtake. It should make for an interesting and exciting race on Sunday.”
Paul Di Resta (VJM04/02)
FP1: P11 1:29.700 24 laps
FP2: P9 1:27.853 35 laps
“It was a new experience today for everyone and we had a lot to get through with our programme. The track is quite exciting and the grip seems to be building nicely. It won’t be an easy race with the DRS zones being so effective and likely to result in lots of overtaking, but from our work today we are getting where we need to be in terms of the set-up. I still need to find a little bit of speed, but once we sit down and analyse the data I'm confident of more good runs tomorrow.”
Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “Arriving at the Buddh International Circuit and hearing the sound of Formula One engines in India once again was a very special moment. It’s something I have dreamed of for over thirty years and this weekend will be a very emotional one for me. Seeing both Sahara Force Indias as the first cars out on track when free practice began also brought a smile to my face. The Jaypee Group has done an excellent job with this circuit and we can all be very proud of this amazing facility. The drivers have been praising the layout and we all expect a thrilling race. On the track today there was a great deal to learn, but we can be pleased with the work we have achieved. I’ve made no secret of my desire to see both Sahara Force India cars racing well inside the points on Sunday afternoon and today’s work has taken us a step closer to achieving this.”
Dominic Harlow, Circuit Engineering Director “It was great to get practice underway here at the Buddh International Circuit in India, which has proved to be an excellent track. There was some early dust on the circuit in FP1, but that quickly cleared and we saw grip levels rise. With an additional set of soft tyres invaluable for our programmes we evaluated some aerodynamic changes to the front and rear of the car with positive indications from the data. Obviously we targeted a slightly higher mileage to increase our data on the circuit and to evaluate the tyre behaviour. Overnight there is much to do to review our results and simulations looking ahead to the rest of the weekend.”
