Friday: Encouraging day for Force India
The Sahara Force India drivers were satisfied with the contribution of the new parts tested today on the VJM05. Hülkenberg and di Resta know, however, that the hardest part is yet to come even if the weekend seems to have started well.
Jules Bianchi – 18th (Free Practice 1)
« I was driving the same single-seater as the one that raced in Bahrain, so the team was able to make a comparison with the new developments brought here. The session went well, I managed to cover 21 laps with the Hard tires, and the completed program provided us with a lot of data to analyze before qualifying. »
Paul di Resta – 15th (Free Practice 2)
A rather normal Friday afternoon session for me, I tried to quickly get comfortable with the tires and adjust the car’s balance. I had new parts on the car, which seem effective, although it’s too early to say where we stand because we don’t know what fuel loads the others were carrying. I think it will be another tight weekend, as it has been in previous races, and we still have a lot of work to do before the qualifying session.
Nico Hülkenberg – 10th and 10th
We completed the planned program and the initial results seem encouraging. The main task was to continue understanding the new features, which I was able to test during the two sessions, and to properly set up the car on this track. We made some changes during the lunch break and it improved things, so I am happy with the work done today. As always, there is still a lot to do, but the tasks planned for today have been accomplished.
