Saturday: Force India was very close to Q2
The Force India team tried everything to reach the second part of the qualifications, but in vain. It might still be too early or at least for this type of exercise where everything is decided in a single lap. Every team member agrees that the new elements of the VJM02 are beneficial, but compared to […]
The Force India team tried everything to reach the second part of the qualifications, but in vain. It might still be too early or at least for this type of exercise where everything is decided in a single lap. Every team member agrees that the new elements of the VJM02 are beneficial, but compared to the other teams, it’s still not quite enough.
Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will start in 17th and 19th positions, respectively. The German initially ranked better (in 16th place) but was penalized with a 3-place grid drop for obstructing Webber from completing his quick lap under favorable conditions.
Adrian Sutil – 14th and 19th (qualified 16th):
« It was a good qualification, but the conditions were very difficult on site. The grip was much lower than during the morning practice. The outcome is not perfect. I managed a good lap at the end, and I think that 16th place is fair, we can be very happy. There was a small problem with Mark Webber in the last corner but I apologized. »
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Giancarlo Fisichella – 19th and 17th (qualified 18th):
« We made a good step forward today by being very close to getting into Q2. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the balance of the car during the session. On ‘Medium’ tires, the situation was okay, but as soon as I put on the Super-Softs, it was much more unpredictable. We made some adjustments to make the car a bit more competitive in qualifying, but we still had some inconsistencies. I think that’s why we weren’t able to improve the time, but in any case, we’ve certainly made progress. The whole team put in a very good effort. Tomorrow, we need a good strategy to reach the end of the race, but we know that our pace is better in the race. »
Dominic Harlow – Chief Race Engineer:
« We have clearly improved the car to qualify within a few tenths of our closest competitors. In this regard, the contrast with China is evident and it bodes well for the race. However, we are not in Q2, even though we were very close. The track was very hot, the hottest since 2005, so the cars naturally lost performance. It will be a difficult race tomorrow but we are eager to give our best. »
