Force India Post Qualifying News

18 April 2009 - The Force India Formula One Team had a tougher day today as preparations for tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix continued. Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella got a solid performance from the VJM02 in free practice and qualifying for the race at the Shanghai International Circuit, however will line up in 19th and 20th positions respectively after yet another ultra competitive session. The pair will now be looking to have a stronger race tomorrow and consolidate the team’s perfect finishing record so far this year.

Adrian Sutil (car 20)
‘We knew it was going to be difficult here today. We couldn’t find a balance as we don’t have enough downforce just yet. This is our main issue and why it is very difficult to drive right now. Although today was tough, we should be more competitive in the race as the pace on Friday over longer runs was better. Our goal now is to finish without any incidents. We know our car is reliable so maybe we can pick up some places like this.’

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
‘Today it felt better than yesterday but it was still tough. We are lacking grip aerodynamically, particularly in the slow speed corners. This race might be tough but we know there is another step to come in Bahrain so the aim here is to get to the finish. We need to have a good strategy and try to do what we can.’

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
‘Both drivers found low grip and a difficult balance today. The one lap performance just wasn’t there and that is reflected in our start positions. We had a good race car on Friday over longer runs and, combined with some interesting opportunities in the race, we are looking for a solid finish.’

Force India Post Practice Chinese Grand Prix

17 April 2009 - The third event of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship got underway today at the modern Shanghai International Circuit, China, with two 90 minute free practice sessions. As the track is unused for racing activities for the greater part of the year it typically takes some time for a layer of rubber to be laid down and, with this in mind, Force India adjusted its programme to conduct the bulk of the running in the afternoon’s session.

Both Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella completed their programmes of set-up optimisation and comparing the tyre compounds available this weekend. Adrian enjoyed a strong day as he set the 14th quickest time in the morning and the 11th in the afternoon, just over one second from the pace-setting Brawn GP. Team-mate Giancarlo had a tougher day as he struggled to find a good balance on the VJM02, but with 50 laps over the day he gathered lots of information to improve overnight.

Adrian Sutil (car 20)
‘It is a change to be here at this time of year. We are used to having around 30 degrees here so with the cooler temperatures it’s much easier to drive although the tyres take a bit longer to warm up. The medium tyres are OK over the longer run, but very hard over a single lap. The supersoft on the other hand is fine for one lap but not as bad as we expected over the longer runs. Overall it went OK, we completed our work and the general balance is good. I’m pleased with the position so I think it was a good start.’

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)

‘I’m not particularly happy with how today went. I am struggling with the car balance at the moment. It’s not consistent just yet and I don’t feel entirely comfortable. At the moment we don’t have a problem with the tyres - in these temperatures we are pretty much OK. We have some ideas of what we can do so I think we will improve for tomorrow.’

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
‘This weekend is going to be all about how we use the dry tyres and our Friday programme reflected this. We tried a lot of different things in a structured test and the VJM02 has been reliable and responsive to changes so far. The track was quite green today and hence low grip but it will evolve over the next two days and that will be something we have to account for as we approach qualifying and the race. It will be another tight qualifying session tomorrow.’

Force India Pre Chinese Grand Pre Press Release

This years Chinese Grand Prix will be third race of the 2009 championship, a change from recent years when it has featured towards the end of the season. However the addition of Abu Dhabi as the season finale means that Shanghai has been moved to April to help ensure a balance of flyaways and China will now form a double header race with Bahrain.

Following a strong double finish in Australia and improved pace in Malaysia, the Force India Formula One Team will go to the Chinese race with the aim of translating its early-season promise into results.
Details and data on the Shanghai International Circuit, the weekends schedule and a lap of the track with Adrian Sutil are available in the attached pdf document.

Team Q&A

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal
Did the first two races of the 2009 season pan out as you expected?
Before the start of the season, we said that the first four flyaway races would be somewhat of an extended test session for the team due to the lack of test mileage over the winter. However when we got to Australia and Adrian and Giancarlo were able to convincingly stay with the pack and so nearly got into the points, we were forced to re-evaluate our expectations. We know we still have some work to do, but I think we can be very encouraged by the speed, reliability and performance of the team.

The team made a lot of changes over the winter both technically and on an operations level. How do you now review them now, two races into the year?
2008 was very much a learning year for the team and, on the basis of these lessons, I made some changes over the winter. I am pleased to see the switch to a McLaren-Mercedes drivetrain has been very reliable and the drivers say the mechanical balance and grip has to date been very good. Nobody would count us out for points so I think this says we have made a good decision. Secondly, we made some changes on the management front. The team is now a much more cohesive outfits all pulling in the same direction and this is entirely positive. So yes, I feel our decisions have been vindicated by the improvements this year.

Have you been surprised by the field this year?
After winter testing, everyone expected the Brawn GP cars to be very quick and this has proved to be the case. Although the team started its 2009 preparations very early on last year and has significant resources, it is now effectively an independent team and I am very pleased that the team can operate at such a high level. It certainly gives us all some lessons. What we have seen further down however is that the field is still very close and we cannot predict the outcome. Under these circumstances I think we have reasons to be very positive about our own situation.

Driver Q&A
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM02/03)

What have you learned about how competitive the car is this year from these two races?
We are closer this year and in general the VJM02 is an improvement from last seasons car. The balance and mechanical grip is good and it is very fast in a straight line, but at the moment we don¡¦t have enough downforce. We do have a much clearer direction though this year,  last year we were struggling everywhere, but this year it’s just downforce. We need more grip in the corners. I know we have some developments in the pipeline so at this point in the season I am hopeful. The car has potential, definitely.

Are you enjoying driving the 2009-style cars?
I think we didn’t really lose performance as everyone expected. The cars are quicker than last year, so with less downforce and slick tyres, you don’t really feel any difference in speed. It’s a bit different driving them, but I really like it. It’s very good for F1 to be back on slick tyres.

What will your aims be for Shanghai?
The aims, as for the previous races, is to be reliable and get to the finish. This year I’ve got a 100% finish record so far, and I want to keep this up. We’ve seen that some of the other teams are having problems with KERS and the order is not so fixed at the moment so if you get to the finish theres a good chance you could do well. I think this should be our goal for now, but when we get back to Europe I want to be racing on merit, not just waiting for something to happen to another driver.

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM02/01)

What have been your thoughts on the opening two races of the 2009 season?
We are definitely closer than we were last year. For sure qualifying is still a bit of a problem for us, but in Australia we were only a couple of tenths from the World Champion so we can’t be too disappointed. In the race it’s not looking too bad. The balance is good and I have had some nice fights with other cars. Unfortunately in Malaysia we made the wrong call with the tyres so we couldn’t show our real performance there, but in Australia it was not too bad. We are racing and that’s a step forward. We need more downforce now, but we have a clear direction to improve and I think this is really positive.

Is the field more competitive this year?
I think it is even tighter than it was last year and a lot more unpredictable too. Some teams you would expect to be up there at the front are midfield, and we’ve seen that if you get the strategy right or wrong it can make a really big difference. You just can’t afford to slip up, even more so than last year.

Looking forward to Shanghai, what are your goals?
The main goal this weekend is to have a clean event without any mistakes, qualify well and to finish the race. I think it’s too early to start hoping for points yet, but we need to keep the momentum going and get as much information as possible so when we introduce new parts we can really see an improvement.

Force India Press Release Post Qualifying Malaysia

The Force India Formula One Team will start tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix, the second race of the 2009 F1 season, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil in 18th and 19th positions respectively. The duo were evenly matched over the day, also posting the two fastest speeds down the straight, and were just tenths from making the cut into Q2.
For the second consecutive event qualifying produced a very close and relatively surprising grid, and Giancarlo will start just behind the Ferrari of Felipe Massa and the Renault of Nelson Piquet.
The 56 lap race will start at 17:00hrs local time tomorrow.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
‘We did a good job today, we had no problems and this was our pace - we couldn’t really have done better. We just need to find some downforce. For tomorrow, I want to have a good race and to get to the finish. We are very quick down the straights and there is some potential for overtaking so let’s see - we had an exciting race in Melbourne and anything can happen. I am still positive.’
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
‘I had a problem with the throttle pedal on the first run so we changed it and I lost the chance to do three runs, which was very important. The lap I did was clean and the car is well balanced. Again the field is very mixed and with the chance of some rain we should look to keep up with the field and take any chance we can.’
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
‘It was a tense session today with a constant threat of heavy showers, but they didn’t materialise. Giancarlo lost some track time with a throttle pedal problem, but recovered well to place a time just 0.05s faster than Adrian. We’re expecting an interesting race tomorrow and we know from last weekend that our race pace coupled with strong straightline speed and a creative strategy could be good enough to score points.’

AT&T Williams Withdrawel Statement Post Qualifying

29 March, 2009, Melbourne, Australia. The AT&T Williams team confirmed that following
today’s qualifying session, it submitted protests against two competitor teams under the
2009 Technical Regulations.
After further detailed consideration, Williams has withdrawn both protests in the interests of
the sport.
Williams recognises the possibility that in this area there could be more than one
interpretation of the rules and therefore does not feel it appropriate to continue with the
protests.

The true cost of Formula One

F1 Racing is widely reported to be the world’s most expensive sports. It’s easy to see how this sport could gain that distinction—after all, each Grand Prix is an event that spans a few days, which can certainly take a toll on the racing vehicles. And, of course, much money is likely spent on mechanics, car maintenance, and car and engine parts.

Figures were published in F1 Racing magazine to give fans an idea of just how expensive this sport really is—and indeed, these figures are rather high. For example, it was estimated that all eleven Grand Prix racing teams spent about $2.9 million dollars during one recent year. The magazine noted that costs varied from between teams—Toyota spent over $418 million, whereas Super Aguri spent only $57 million.

Looking at these figures, one this is apparent—F1 racing is rather expensive. Whether is it the world’s most expensive sport, though, may still be up for debate.

New countries in F1 2008

F1 racing is truly a global sport. Grand Prix races have, over the years, been held in numerous countries throughout the world, including the United States and many in Europe. Europe is really the center of F1 racing, but more and more countries are getting involved, wanting to host their own Grand Prix races.

In fact, some countries are participating for the first time in 2008. Bahrain, China, Malaysia, and Turkey are holding Grand Prix races in their countries during the year of 2008. Singapore is scheduled to hold a Grand Prix event in 2010. Now, these are not additional races to the F1 series; instead, these events have replaced other Grand Prix races. In order for these new events to take place, F1 organizers decided to drop certain races in Europe and in North and South America.

Many fans are excited about these new Grand Prix races. Others aren’t too happy about certain races being canceled. But, fans will certainly be there, watching these exciting races.

McLaren can catch up to Ferrari, says Fittipaldi

 former driver for F1’s McLaren team, Emerson Fittipaldi insists that his former team are still in the running for the title even with the reality of Ferrari’s recent good run. Fittipaldi, who won one of his two F1 titles with Mclaren team, says McLaren has it in them to fight back.

“Ferrari are very strong,” said fittipaldi to the Press Association.

“But McLaren could bring out new suspension, down force, brake balance and weight distribution that could change the car and gain three-tenths of a second – and suddenly again their car is competitive. McLaren is very capable of coming back very strong again.” he added.

Ferrari’s 3 victories have allowed Raikkonen to establish a gap of  nine-points over Hamilton in the driver standings. He had a very good finish a little off the pace, but he could come back strong.

New rules will increase overtaking on the circuit

Honda team boss Ross Brawn has said that the new rules for 2009 which include banning tyre warmers, slick tyres, and aerodynamic modifications will make it much more challenging on the track.

“The cars will have a lot less down force than they do now so it’s definitely going to go back the other way, The feeling is if we can have a higher ratio of tyre and mechanical grip and a lower ratio of aero grip then intuitively you think that would be much better for one car to follow another.” said brawn in a recent issue of auto trader.

Brawn went on to say; “The tyre of car we’re trying to have should mean that cars can follow each other easier, There are a lot of reasons why it should be better, but whether theres a second or third effect we haven’t anticipated we’ll have to wait and see.” he added.
Only time will tell what these changes will mean, if any to the F1 scene. But I for one am looking forward to seeing more action.

Dieter Mateschitz says Let Red Bull race four cars

Red Bull Tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz has prompted debate that each Formula One team should be allowed to sport ‘four cars’ per grand prix in the future. The billionaire born in austria has recently and openly put his 50 per cent share in ‘Toro Rosso’ up for sale, as Formula One prepares to not accept ‘customer cars’ in formula one from 2010.

But in an effort to maintain the same number of Red Bull branded cars on the grid, Mateschitz told an Austrian newspaper that an alternative solution would be to allow four red bull branded cars to be entered into each race.

“My proposal is to allow four cars per team, If the regulations mean Toro Rosso can no longer utilise Red Bull technologies, then it makes no sense,” he is quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten. “We can not build a second Milton Keynes in Faenza,” Mateschitz added.

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