Saturday: Disappointment at Force India
The qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps proved to be disappointing for the Indian team, which is more accustomed to shining on this track. Drivers Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta will start tomorrow from 15th and 18th place, respectively.
Adrian Sutil – 15th:
What happened today is a real disappointment for us because the car was performing really well during practice. Q1 was quite straightforward for me, but I made a small mistake coming out of Eau Rouge. I went a bit wide, touched the curb, and lost control of the rear of the car, which sent me into the wall. It wasn’t a very heavy impact, but the car was somewhat damaged. If that hadn’t happened, the qualifying could have been much better. Let’s hope for a drier track tomorrow, but we know that anything can happen in a race, especially at Spa. In the end, I’m trying not to be too disappointed and focusing on the work that remains for tomorrow.
Paul Di Resta – 18th
Starting from 18th on the grid was not what I hoped for my first Belgian Grand Prix. We went out early in Q1 but couldn’t take part in the second part of qualifying, otherwise, we could have tested all the track conditions at the end of the session. Unfortunately, the rain started to fall, and I went off on a chicane at a time when I could have set my fastest lap. On the next lap, we thought we could do better, but the team informed me that Kovalainen had set a faster lap, which eliminated me. It’s very frustrating because we expected much better. Fortunately, Spa is a circuit where overtaking is possible, so we have a lot of work ahead for tomorrow.
Vijay Malya – Owner and Team Principal:
« Today’s qualifying session is very disappointing. We came here full of optimism, and our performance during the practice sessions gave us the possibility of aiming for the top 10. But Spa’s weather conditions make things very unpredictable, and today it did not work in our favor. Paul made a small mistake in Q1 when the rain returned, and conditions worsened afterward. Q2 seemed possible, but we were eliminated at the very last moment. As for Adrian, he made a mistake at Eau Rouge and damaged his car. It wasn’t what we were hoping for, but we will be present tomorrow to fight and try to get into the points. »
