Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global
Race report

Sahara Force India narrowly missed out on points at Suzuka

Paul Di Resta finished in P11 ahead of Adrian Sutil in P14 in today's Japanese race

Paul di Resta, Sahara Force India VJM06

Paul di Resta, Sahara Force India VJM06

XPB Images

P11 Paul Di Resta VJM06-04

Paul di Resta, Sahara Force India VJM06
Paul di Resta, Sahara Force India VJM06

Photo by: XPB Images

Paul: “At the start of the race I didn’t get a good launch and a few cars came by me, and then we lost out at the first pit stop because the Williams of Bottas jumped us. That compromised the second stint, which is why we went very aggressive with an early second stop to get track position and move ahead of the Williams. The car felt better for the final stint and it looked like we were on course for a point. In the end we were about five laps too short with the tyre life because I couldn’t defend from Jenson [Button]. With four races to go we need to take the positives from this weekend and will travel to India determined to get back in the points.”

P14 Adrian Sutil VJM06-03

Adrian: “It’s been a very tough weekend and starting from the back of the grid made it difficult to get close to the points. In the end I finished P14 and had some good battles, but there was a lot of oversteer in the car and it was not easy to be consistent. The best part of the race was the start because I moved up to P16, but we just didn’t have the race pace we needed today and couldn’t get the performance from the tyres.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“We made no secret of the fact that Suzuka was going to be the most difficult track for us in the second part of the season. So it was no surprise that points were hard to come by today. Paul came close in P11, but his race strategy was hampered in the second stint when he was running behind Bottas. He finally cleared the Williams by pitting early for his second stop, but we were missing the pace to fend off the recovering Button and that cost us the final point. With Adrian it was a similar story as he ran behind Maldonado for much of the race and struggled with tyre performance. So it’s been an uphill struggle for us, but we remain upbeat as we head to India for the team’s home race. The upcoming tracks should play more to our strengths and give us the opportunity to get back to scoring regular points.”

Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Both Sauber drivers earn points today at Suzuka
Next article Maldonado finished 16th with Bottas 17th in today's Japanese Grand Prix

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global