Force India satisfied with 12th and 13th
Qualifying at the Buddh International Circuit saw Sahara Force India's Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil secure 12th and 13th places respectively for tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix.
Paul Di Resta, VJM06-04, 12th: “I think we can be satisfied with the job we’ve done today. My lap in Q2 was very good, although I made a small mistake in the second to last corner, so I was maybe a couple of tenths away from the perfect lap. It definitely feels like we’ve made some progress recently and my confidence is growing with the way the car is working at the moment. Going into our home race we are only a couple of places away from points, so we’re in the mix and if we can deliver the right strategy we should be able to come away with something.”
Adrian Sutil, VJM06-03, 13th: “P13 is more or less the position I expected today. The balance was not perfect for my last run and I was suffering with some understeer, so maybe I could have been a couple of tenths quicker. As a team we are P12 and P13 so I think we’re still in with a good chance of scoring points. The strategy options are quite limited because the medium tyre is a very good race tyre, more so than the soft. It’s our home race and I really enjoy this track so I hope we can put on a good show tomorrow in front of the Indian fans.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: “The indications from yesterday’s practice sessions suggested that we were looking slightly more competitive than in previous races, and I think our performance today confirms that. The times in final practice showed the progress made overnight and it’s encouraging to hear that the drivers are feeling more confident with the car, which is what we’ve been missing recently. Both drivers felt that there was a little bit more performance in the car, but I don’t think it would have changed our overall grid positions. We will approach tomorrow’s race with points being the clear goal. It’s something we have achieved for the past couple of years and I’m optimistic that we will have the race pace to take the fight to the cars around us and deliver some points in our home race.”
