Summary: A season finale that satisfies Force India

Force India scores no points today in Abu Dhabi, but the team is happy to end the 2009 season with a sense of accomplishment. Progress has been made throughout the year, and it’s with this image that everyone wants to leave Abu Dhabi.

Adrian Sutil had difficulties with his tires. He finished only 18th at the bottom of the standings and was outperformed by his Italian teammate, Liuzzi. The German remains proud of his 2009 season but has not announced anything about his future in 2010. Vitantonio Liuzzi, on the other hand, finished 15th and recorded one of his best performances since returning to F1 to replace Fisichella at Toro Rosso. The Italian is also satisfied with his team’s progress in 2009 but regrets his brake problem in the Grand Prix, without which he might have scored points.

Adrian Sutil – 18th:

« We had some issues with the tires right from the start of the race, so we had to pit earlier than expected to fit a new set. The two-stop strategy was the right call, and the race went well even though we didn’t score any points, which was the goal. It was still a very good season for Force India, with many ups and downs naturally, but we made significant progress between the beginning and the end of the season. I think we can be very proud of this progress. »

Tonio Liuzzi – 15th:

Overall, I think we got the most out of the car today but unfortunately, we encountered a brake issue more or less from the beginning of the race, so we couldn’t really fight to gain places. I was behind a Williams at the start and one of the Toyotas in the middle of the race, so we were mostly in the midfield. We had an issue with the soft tires in the first fifteen laps, which caused a lot of oversteer, so I think this is the most we could do. We knew it would be difficult to score points and even though I would have liked to have some on the leaderboard at the end of the season, I am happy that we showed some great things in the last five races.

Vijay Mallya – Director:

« Of course points would have been an appropriate end to the season, but unfortunately, we couldn’t achieve them today. However, both drivers gave absolutely everything until the last lap, and I couldn’t have asked for better. We had an excellent season for Force India this year and I want to thank the whole team, both on the track and at our bases in Silverstone and Brackley, for their remarkable commitment and skills that have led us to this success. We have achieved our goals and even a bit more, and can only build on this over the winter for 2010. »