Force India disappointed with qualifying performance
Force India's drivers were left disappointed after a difficult qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, where both the drivers were knocked out in Q2.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finished 11th and 13th respectively at the Marina Bay circuit in a session that yielded a surprise pole for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
"It’s a bit disappointing not to make the top 10," Hulkenberg said after qualifying.
"For whatever reason, we didn’t have the harmony or performance we expected and I wasn’t as happy with the balance as I was yesterday.
"I was chasing the set-up in final practice and we made some changes before qualifying, but we still couldn’t find the sweet spot.
"The car was quite snappy with some oversteer and it wasn’t easy to get a tidy lap together," the German driver added.
While Hulkenberg managed to get a clean lap in Q2 before a yellow flag interruption caused by Carlos Sainz touching the barriers late on, Perez's best lap was cut short because of the incident.
"I am disappointed as I think Q3 was possible," the Mexican said.
"The yellow flag at the end of Q2 meant I couldn’t finish what would have been my best lap, which is a shame.
"I don’t think P13 reflects our true pace because we’ve done a very good job so far this weekend and we are continuing to take big steps forward," he added.
Optimistic for the race
"Qualifying is only half the battle," team principal Dr. Vijay Mallya said. "We need to be sensible and take our chances to make sure we come away with some good points tomorrow."
The drivers agreed with Mallya and were optimistic of their chances in the race tomorrow.
Underlining the need to get the strategy right, Hulkenberg said: "The strategy decisions will be critical for tomorrow and we’ve seen over the years how unpredictable Singapore can be.
"It’s always a tough race with high tyre degradation, especially the rears, and all the teams around us look quite evenly matched."
Force India's nearest rivals in the constructors' standings, Lotus, have their cars starting 10th (Romain Grosjean) and 18th (Pastor Maldonado) for tomorrow's race.
See also: Full Singapore qualifying results
Share Or Save This Story
Lotterer sweeps Super Formula test, Gasly shines again
Lotterer leads first Super Formula test day as Gasly impresses
GP3 race winner Parry set for GT switch in 2017
Shock as Audi ran upgraded F1 engine at Barcelona GP after ADUO verdict
The wild reason behind Nico Hulkenberg's Barcelona GP retirement
Why some F1 team bosses think drivers shouldn't have a say in the rules
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Joe Gibbs Racing withdraws an allegation against Spire, Chris Gabehart
Introducing Carson Brown, NASCAR's next top prospect
Analysis: BoP Setback for Cadillac, further breaks for BMW in Road America BoP
Multiple internal changes reignite winning formula for Vasser Sullivan Racing
The shocking aspect to Kimi Antonelli's rapid F1 title-contending transformation
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen overdelivered in Hungary - and that's symbolic of their F1 2026 seasons
Where to next after the Bahraysian Grand Prix?
How Lando Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments