Friday: High hopes for Force India

First strong impression from Force India in testing. The first morning session was already a success as the drivers frequently found themselves in the top 10. They finished at the lower end of it with 10th place for Giancarlo Fisichella and 11th for Adrian Sutil.

It was not taking into account the afternoon session, which turned out to be a fairy tale for the German! Never this season had a Force India ranked so well with the third fastest time just behind the two Red Bulls. Yet, the Indian team hasn’t revolutionized their cars, just a few new parts at most. Let’s hope for them that it continues tomorrow…

Adrian Sutil – 11th and 3rd:

« Today, I am happy with the car because it performed well all day. It’s a bit surprising to finish third in the second practice session, but we have to recognize that it was a very good session. The best position this year for a Friday. We completed our program, did a lot of work, and the tires seem reliable. The soft ones seem to wear a bit at the rear, but the track will evolve by Sunday, so no real concerns. Realistically, I don’t think my position this afternoon will be the same for qualifying, but everything is working very well. I am quite confident to at least make it to Q2. If we can do it again, we would be very satisfied. »

Giancarlo Fisichella – 10th and 19th:

« The morning went well and we had some good stints. My laps weren’t bad. This afternoon, I suffered from oversteer and we made a few small changes. However, at the end, with the new tires, I was suffering from understeer. It’s not a great second session but the potential is there and Adrian [Sutil] knows it. I think that tomorrow, we should be in the top 15 in qualifying. »

Dominic Harlow – Chief Race Engineer:

« It was great to see Adrian achieve that time this afternoon, and we are happy with today’s sessions. The team worked very well and being so close to first place motivates us even more. The weather is very windy and it affected the cars’ balance this afternoon with a tendency to oversteer. We completed our program to understand the tire behavior. We will need to analyze the data in detail tonight. Combining the laps completed by both drivers, we have more than two Grand Prix distances to analyze. We look forward to a good qualifying session tomorrow.