Zero points for Force India in Austria!
Qualifying on the front row, Nico Hülkenberg was quickly disillusioned in the race before retiring a few laps later, when his team-mate Sergio Pérez ran off the track violently due to braking problems. Force India returned from its trip to the Austrian mountains without a point.
Full of hope before the start, Nico Hülkenberg lost all illusions at the first corner after a failed takeoff. Then the German’s race was nothing but a long ordeal until he retired a few laps before the finish to preserve his machine.
I am quite disappointed and even disgusted to be honest. Hülkenberg admitted after the race before continuing: It was a really tough race and nothing worked. The start wasn’t great and I lost a few positions on the first lap. The first stint was complicated because the car was sliding a lot and the tires had graining. And it became the story of my race because the car’s balance was bad and didn’t allow me to get the best out of the tires. At the end of the race, I felt vibrations and the team decided to stop me because they detected a problem with the rear brakes.
The brakes also forced Sergio Pérez to retire on the last lap while he was in the points: « In the last lap, I went off at turn no. 3, I had no brakes left and went straight on. »
A retirement that deprives Force India and Sergio Pérez of some precious points in a relatively disappointing weekend: « It’s annoying because the team really did what was needed and we were unlucky to be stopped like that in our comeback », concluded Pérez.
