Just one week after the dramatic Chinese Grand Prix, in which Adrian Sutil so nearly scored Force India's first points, the team will be back in action for the fourth event of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix."I think the team’s performance in China was very encouraging," said Team Principal Vijay Mallya. "We functioned well as a unit, made the correct calls from the pit wall and showed again that when the conditions allow we can be competitive. Both Adrian and Giancarlo drove phenomenal races and really did the team proud. We know we still have work to do and putting in these performances in every race is still a distant goal, but I feel confident there are good foundations now. It’s a boost for everyone not to lose hope as we can still surprise."
Since Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the 'diffuser three' the teams are all now in something of a development race. Force India Mercedes is no exception.
"We are planning to introduce a significant aerodynamic upgrade for the Bahrain Grand Prix, including a new floor and an interim diffuser," Mallya continued. "Amongst other items, we also plan to use new auxiliary wings on the front wing and re-profiled sidepods to incorporate the amended rear end. We have been planning this upgrade since the debut of the VJM02 as part of our scheduled aerodynamic cycle and it will represent a good step forward for the team. Although we nevertheless expect other teams to have moved forward as well, we hope this will keep us racing with the rest of the field."
"As usual, we know points are going to be very difficult to achieve and we should not set this as a goal for Bahrain," the Indian billionaire continued. "Yes, Adrian had a very strong race in China and very nearly achieved our ultimate goal far earlier than anyone could have expected, but we should not look on the Chinese Grand Prix as indicative of our general form. Instead, we need to focus once more on reliability and consistency and look to be there if circumstances allow."
Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella Q&A
Adrian, You had a fantastic race out in China. What are your thoughts on the race now, three days on?
AS: "The team should be proud of the race we had and the performance we showed in China.
Of course I am disappointed we didn’t get the ultimate result, but you have to get over it as there is always the next race. For sure we deserved the points, but we’re not giving up as there are always other chances. We’ve re-focussed and are now looking forward to Bahrain, which is a race I enjoy ¡V there’s something very different about racing in the desert."
And what are your goals for the next round of the championship in Bahrain?
AS: "The goals for Bahrain are really going to be the same as for China. For sure I want to finish the job, but I think getting points here will be very difficult. I want to keep the reliability record we have shown so far this year ¡V it’s my best start to a season since I came into F1 in 2007 and I want to maintain this finish rate."
What are your thoughts on the developments coming through for this race?
AS: "The new parts we have coming through for this race should keep us close to the others and I hope we will be able to have a good, competitive race, but we need to focus on our own performance and try to improve as much as possible so when we get to Europe we can really be fighting."
Giancarlo, how would you review the first three races?
GF: "Mechanically the VJM02 is good. It feels quite balanced and consistent and is a big improvement from last year. We’re working well with the new team partners, McLaren and Mercedes, and I think we have a lot we can be positive about. We know where we need to improve: we are missing a lot of downforce and it shows, but now we have started to introduce new upgrades I am hopeful we can start to fix this problem."
What are your aims for Bahrain?
GF: "I feel quite positive about Bahrain. We have some new parts coming through from the factory and I hope they will be an improvement in overall pace. We’ve still got some way to go to be able to race for points, but at least this will keep us competitive. As with China, we’ve got to focus on getting to the end and seeing where we are."
No comments:
Post a Comment