Strong race secures Force India's best ever season
As the 2014 season came to a close in Abu Dhabi, Sahara Force India ended the season in style with a strong double points finish at Yas Marina. With double points on offer, the team scored 28 points as Nico Hulkenberg raced to sixth place just ahead of Sergio Perez in seventh.
Nico Hulkenberg, VJM07-04, 6th: “I’m very happy with this result. After struggling with the car on Friday and in qualifying, I think we can be proud of today’s race and our performance is a good sign for next year as well. The car performed at its best; I had a good balance and I had the confidence to really push. There were just a few laps after the pit stops when I was managing the tyres, but other than that it was flat out all the way. The long final stint on the supersoft tyres was brave, but it turned out to be a great strategy by the team and it really worked out well.”
Sergio Perez, VJM07-02, 7th: “The points today helped me to finish in the top ten of the championship, which is an important achievement after a great year. I think we could have been even higher up today, but we probably stopped too late for the final pit stop. If we had been on the supersofts a bit earlier then maybe we could have been closer to Button at the end of the race. Looking back at the season overall I think everyone in the team has done a tremendous job and we should feel very happy about what we have achieved. I’ve enjoyed this season and now that I know the team I’m looking forward to coming back stronger in 2015.”
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: “Today we saw a captivating race that demonstrated how far we have come this season. Everyone in the team performed superbly, from the team on the pit wall that devised a very effective strategy, to the pit-crew who pulled off four good stops. Equally, the drivers were superb and Nico and Sergio didn't put a wheel wrong on track. We battled with World Champions today and we beat them fair and square - we finished with both cars ahead of the Ferraris and one Red Bull. Nico's penalty was harsh and it surely cost him fifth place, which would have been thoroughly deserved. Even though tonight's result was not enough to claim back fifth in the championship, we can look back to our season with pride. We scored the highest points tally in the history of the team, 155 points, and we finished with both cars in the points on ten occasions. I want to congratulate everyone in the team, both here at the track and back in Silverstone, for their effort this season, and encourage them to take this year as a spur for even greater things to come in 2015.”
