Neither more nor less for Force India on this first day
The Force India team had Sutil and its third driver, James Calado, running during the first free practice session. Di Resta then took over in the afternoon. With dry weather conditions, the track was able to gain grip throughout the day, and Force India managed to adapt. The Indian team will need a few more laps to find the ideal compromise before qualifying.
Adrian Sutil – 12th and 10th:
« I really like this circuit and the conditions were ideal today for testing. We worked hard to find the perfect balance. This morning, we had a lot of understeer issues, then this afternoon it was oversteer. So we still need to work this evening to be ready for the rest of the weekend. »
Paul Di Resta – 11th (Free Practice 2):
« It was a rather good session and right from the first stint I had good feelings with the car. The long stint is quite promising, and our tires seem to behave similarly to our competitors, which is a good sign. We still need to improve our performance on a single lap, so we’ll work on that tonight, and I hope we can make good progress in the last practice session tomorrow. »
James Calado – 18th (Free Practice 1):
« It’s a new track for me, and it’s very complicated to learn, especially in the last sector with many turns. The plan was for me to drive with high fuel loads, and it was the first time I was doing this. Yet by the end of the session, I felt very comfortable in the car. Tire degradation was quite high, especially at the beginning of the session when the track was very dirty, but I’m happy with how things went today. »
