Result: Difficult weekend for Force India

Just a month ago, Force India would have considered this race satisfactory. But now the goals are much higher and the team is very disappointed with these results. Nevertheless, the team knew it would be more difficult for them in Singapore, but they still hoped to score points.

Liuzzi used a two-stop strategy and stayed in the slipstream of Fisichella’s Ferrari until his third and final stint where he opted for super-soft tires. This last set of tires generated excessive graining in the final laps of his race, and Liuzzi began to lose a lot of time to his former teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. Nevertheless, the Italian pushed until the final corner and finished his first race for the team.

Adrian Sutil retired prematurely this Sunday. The German driver gained a position at the start and found himself stuck behind Jaime Alguersuari. After his first pit stop, Sutil saw an opportunity to overtake in turn number 10 but spun while attempting his maneuver. When he tried to rejoin the track, Nick Heidfeld—whom Sutil hadn’t seen—was coming out of the previous corner and had no choice but to collide with the VJM02. Sutil’s braking system was damaged in the secondary impact, and he returned to the pits to attempt repairs, but he ultimately had to retire.

Vitantonio Liuzzi – 14th:

This was an ultra-difficult weekend and race for us. The conditions have been very challenging from the start. We were starting from the last row and hoped to score some points but we knew it was going to be very tough. Having two cars with KERS in front of me didn’t help either. I couldn’t catch up with Giancarlo even though I was faster in my first two stints. In the last stint, I started to have graining on the rear tires with the super-soft specification and I couldn’t catch up anymore. In the end, it was a difficult race but we are optimistic for the upcoming Grand Prix weekends.

Adrian Sutil – Retirement:

It was quite frustrating at the start as we knew that with one stop we were very heavy, but Jaime [Alguersuari] was very slow and really struggling with his car. He held me up a lot and I tried several times to pass him and eventually saw an opportunity. I tried and it wasn’t enough – I was a little late on the brakes, spun out and there you go. Then Nick [Heidfeld] came along and hit my front wing when I was stuck in the corner. I didn’t see him coming as I was already in motion and couldn’t react to it, but I’m sorry for that. It was a racing incident. After the accident, I then had a problem with the brakes and lost all rear pressure and had to stop as it was very dangerous to continue in those conditions. We should be much more competitive at Suzuka. It’s one of my favorite tracks and I have high hopes of achieving good results there.

Vijay Mallya – Team Principal:

We thought it was going to be a tough race since it requires a high level of aerodynamic downforce, and that was the case. We tried everything we could to gain some positions, but ultimately it was too big of a challenge to score some points today. However, I am very happy that Tonio finished his first race for the team and he fought well with a Ferrari. Adrian tried to gain positions but it didn’t work out for him. But it was a racing incident and these things happen when you push hard. We are now looking forward to Suzuka where we hope to show our true level of performance.