2016 Review – Force India: Power 4

The important figures

Constructor standings position: 4th

Pole: 0

Victory: 0

Podium: 2

Points: 173

Best result: 3rd (Pérez: Monaco and Europe)

Best qualifying: 2nd (Hülkenberg: Austria)

An even duel between Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg

If Sahara Force India was able to clinch fourth place in the championship from Williams, it’s because the Silverstone team could rely on its two drivers to consistently score big points. In this regard, it was Sergio Pérez who stood out the most, scoring 101 points compared to 72 for his teammate.

Nevertheless, when analyzing the details of the performances, it becomes clear that the Mexican’s dominance is not as clear-cut. Indeed, we can see that the two drivers are tied in their head-to-head races whenever both cars reach the finish line: (16 races with a score of 8-8). The difference, however, is made with the two podiums achieved by Sergio Pérez in the span of three races, in Monaco and Baku, something that hadn’t happened to the team since its purchase by Vijay Mallya at the end of 2007! To find the last time they achieved two podiums in the same year, one has to go back to the team’s early roots, namely the Jordan team, and the year 2000, with the German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

But Nico Hülkenberg also pays a high price for his five retirements, mostly due to accidents on the first lap, or even on the starting line, as seen in Silverstone or Singapore. He can still find comfort in knowing that he dominated his teammate in qualifying, with a score of 12 to 9. His highlight remains Austria, where he was able to start once again on the front row, qualified third but placed second after the penalty applied to Nico Rosberg. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to capitalize on this, retiring during the same Grand Prix due to brake problems.

Departure of Nico Hülkenberg, replaced by Esteban Ocon

If Sahara Force India had its best year, it will have to skillfully manage the upcoming 2017 season. Indeed, in addition to significant regulatory changes, it will have to handle the departure of Nico Hülkenberg. The team has decided not to oppose their driver’s decision to join a manufacturer, in this case Renault, even though he was under contract with the Silverstone outfit for the 2017 season. If Renault manages to make significant progress, the German driver might avoid taking the unenviable record of the driver with the most Grand Prix races without a single podium, held by Adrian Sutil, with 128 Grand Prix races. This is only 13 more than the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner…

That being said, this hardly encouraging perspective does not prevent him from playing the humor card with Renault on social networks:

Dear @RenaultSportF1, here are few handy tips to take care of your @HulkHülkenberg… pic.twitter.com/AMIkm64oNO

— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 9 décembre /f1/actualite/21627-bilan-de-la-saison-2016-votez-pour-votre-top-10-.html

On the other hand, Sahara Force India managed to leverage its partnership with Mercedes to secure the arrival of a great hope for the coming years, in the person of Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman proved himself up to the task during the last seven races of the season at Manor to show that he deserved the praise sung by Toto Wolff. He will thus be able to continue his F1 learning in the midfield, before aiming for a seat within the parent company.

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