Articles Tagged ‘Force India’
Friday, March 12th, 2010 - Posted by Formula1Blogger
The first practise sessions of the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix season began today in Bahrain, with many of the teams eager to see how their cars would perform in the blistering desert heat.
In Practise session 1 Adrian Sutil was the man on top, beating Fernando Alonso to the P1 position by some 0.325 seconds. New entrants Hispania struggled to keep anywhere near the pace of the other runners, having to use the practise sessions effectively as shake downs to their new car. Hispania were unable to have their car ready for any of the pre-season testing sessions.
In session 2 Nico Rosberg headed up the table, 0.445 seconds faster than closest rival Lewis Hamilton. In fact, in both practise sessions Rosberg beat his team mate, Michael Schumacher by nearly half a second – something Schumacher was not best pleased about:
“Nico was four-tenths up and that is a bit too much for my standards. I’ve got to raise my game a bit and I’m sure I’m able to.”
Out of any man on the grid, you can believe that Schumacher can pull that one out of the bag. Nevertheless, he finished practice 2 in P3.
The Ferrari’s fared well in session 1, however session 2 was not so great for the team – finishing 7th and 9th. Alonso afterwards commented that he was unclear on who would be up there during qualifying:
“Out of the four big teams, any can be on pole. And there could be a surprise like Force India, who seem very quick on this type of circuit.”
McLaren also didn’t disappoint with both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button feeling happy with the car. Both drivers finished in the top 6 in both sessions, moving into Saturday with a lot of confidence that their new car for 2010 is solid, and consistent.
Most unsurprising out of the two sessions was the performance of the newer teams, Virgin Racing, Lotus and Hispania. All 3 teams ended the sessions fighting for the last 6 places on the grid, with Hispania’s Karun Chandhok not even getting a drive on Friday.
It’s all still out there to play for, with the 4 big teams still very close. Outsiders Force India and Williams both have a chance at interrupting the play in Saturday’s qualifying session – it’s going to be a really exciting one!
Tags: Adrian Sutil, Bahrain, Force India, Hispania, Mercedes, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg
Posted in Mercedes GP, News | No Comments »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
In the final day of young driver testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain, it was reigning British F3 champ Aussie Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull who set the quickest time – a 1.17.418s, despite having a premature end to the day.
The engine in Ricciardo’s Red Bull gave up the ghost after completing 77 laps.
The second quickest driver of the day was Scot Paul di Resta in the Force India, who’s morning session was cut short when his car came to a halt in the gravel at the chicane.
Third fastest in the McLaren was yesterday’s pacesetter Gary Paffett.
Times
01. Ricciardo Red Bull 1.17.418s 77 laps
02. Di Resta Force India 1.18.736s 53 laps
03. Paffett McLaren 1.18.746s 59 laps
04. Conway Brawn 1.19.096s 77 laps
05. Hulkenberg Williams 1.19.226s 106 laps
06. Baguette Sauber 1.19.356s 70 laps
07. Turvey McLaren 1.19.358s 32 laps
08. Ericsson Brawn 1.19.382s 49 laps
09. Di Grassi Renault 1.19.602s 123 laps
10. Hildebrand Force India 1.19.873s 41 laps
11. Sanchez Ferrari 1.21.147s 39 laps
12. Zampieri Ferrari 1.21.279s 42 laps
12. Zipoli Ferrari 1.21.725s 41 laps
13. Hartley Toro Rosso 1.22.493s 50 laps
15. Bortolotti Toro Rosso 1.23.271s 34 laps
16. Tung Renault 1.32.477s 4 laps
Tags: British F3, Daniel Ricciardo, Force India, Gary Paffett, Jerez, McLaren, Paul di Resta
Posted in BMW Sauber, Brawn GP, Ferrari, Force India, McLaren, News, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso, Williams | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
The young drivers test or ‘Kindergarten week’ as it was dubbed by Toro Rosso has today begun at the Jerez Circuit, Spain with 12 hot prospects all setting lap times at the circuit.
British F2 champ Spaniard Andy Soucek was the fastest driver in the 2009 Williams under the sunny skies at the circuit, where there was a track temperature of just 22′C. He clocked a 1:19.158 in his 87 laps.
However, it wasn’t all good for Soucek as twice he forced the red flags to come out, and brought the session to a temporary halt.
Scot Paul di Resta went second fastest in the Force India 0.211s off the pace, ahead of third place and former DTM champion Gary Paffett.
Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley finished last of the 12 after colliding with the barriers in the morning session.
Finishing 7th in the BMW Sauber was Alexander Rossi who’s quickest time was a 1:20.227. When speaking about his day he said;
“I very much enjoyed this day. It is impressive what the car does, how predictable and precise its reactions are, and how high the overall grip level is. But I have to admit I am also a little bit disappointed because being a racing driver you always want to be the fastest!
“I think in the afternoon we didn’t manage to find the perfect balance. Physically I have to say it was as demanding as I expected it would be. The power steering is a great help compared to GP2, but the g-forces obviously are higher.”
The Young Drivers testing runs until December 3rd.
Times
01 A. Soucek (Williams) 1:19.158 87 laps
02 P. Di Resta (Force India) 1:19.369 46 laps
03 G. Paffet (McLaren) 1:19.426 54 laps
04 D. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:19.534 113 laps
05 J. Bianchi (Ferrari) 1:19.626 91 laps
06 M. Conway (Brawn GP) 1:19.920 58 laps
07 A. Rossi (BMW-Sauber) 1:20.227 82 laps
08 M. Ericsson (Brawn GP) 1:20.333 50 laps
09 B. Baguette (Renault) 1:20.511 105 laps
10 J.R. Hildebrand (Force India) 1:20.537 49 laps
11 O. Turvey (McLaren) 1:20.856 27 laps
12 B. Hartley (Toro Rosso) 1:21.325 69 laps
Tags: Alexander Rossi, Andy Soucek, BMW Sauber, Brendon Hartley, DTM, F2, Force India, Gary Paffett, Jerez, Paul di Resta, Toro Rosso, Williams
Posted in BMW Sauber, Brawn GP, Ferrari, Force India, McLaren, News, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso, Williams | No Comments »
Thursday, November 26th, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
The new Mercedes team have today announced their two drivers for the Young Drivers Test at Jerez, Spain which will take place later this month – Mike Conway and Marcus Ericsson.
Mike Conway, the 26 year old from Kent, England has previously won the Formula Renault and British F3 titles. This year he has competed in the IndyCar series, with his only podium being a third place. He finished 17th in the drivers standings.
The 19 year old Swede Marcus Ericsonn won the Formula BMW title in 2007 and just this year he has triumphed and won the Japanese F3 title.
The full list of young drivers heading for Jerez so far is:
BMW Sauber:
Alexander Rossi
Esteban Gutierrez
Mercedes:
Mike Conway
Marcus Ericsson
(more…)
Tags: Alexander Rossi, Andy Soucek, Bertrand Baguette, BMW Sauber, Brendon Hartley, British F3, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniel Zampieri, Esteban Gutierrez, Ferrari, Force India, Formula BMW, Formula Renault, Japanese F3, Jerez, JR Hildebrand, Jules Bianchi, Lucas di Grassi, Marco Zipoli, Marcus Ericsson, McLaren, Mercedes, Mike Conway, Mirko Bortolotti, Nico Hulkenberg, Pablo Sanchez Lopez, Paul di Resta, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso, Williams
Posted in Mercedes GP, News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
Force India are obviously keeping their options for 2010 drivers open – no less than 6 drivers are in the running for the seats, including the drivers who ended last season with the team; Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Giancarlo Fisichella who went to Ferrari last season to cover for the injured Felipe Massa will most likely stay at the Italian team as test driver next season with Massa and Fernando Alonso having the race seats, although Fisichella has not completely ruled himself out, saying:
“Why not? It is open. It could be Force India. There are a lot of teams without drivers so far.”
Another driver in the running is former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. who was heavily involved in the ‘Crashgate’ scandal, although it seems his whistleblowing has not deterred Force India. Piquet said:
“I am close to Force India at the moment, but to me NASCAR is very interesting, so I don’t know yet what is going to happen. I don’t want to take a decision without knowing how things work here in the United States, so I came to be with the drivers and team owners.
“It is clear that the F1 cars are very much better technologically – the best in the world – but I find that if it is enjoyable, it doesn’t matter if I am racing in karts. The important thing is to compete.”
The other two drivers in the running are Pedro de la Rosa who was denied a drive at the new team Campos for the lack of Spanish sponsors that come with him, although he is still a possibility for the Force India drive.
The final driver rumoured to join the team sure is an interesting one – Scot Paul di Resta. Di Resta finished 3rd in this years prestigious DTM championship driving for the AMG Mercedes team, including one race win on home soil at Brands Hatch. Di Resta is set for a test at Jerez for the team in early December.
Tags: Adrian Sutil, Campos, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Force India, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nelson Piquet Jr, Paul di Resta, Pedro de la Rosa, Renault, Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Posted in Ferrari, Force India, News, Rumour | No Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
Etihad Airways and Aldar Properties have to pay Force India $4.683million in damages after breaking their sponsorship agreements.
The companies signed as sponsors when the team was known as Spyker in 2007, although when the team was bought by Vijay Mallya who renamed it Force India and brought in his Kingfisher airline’s sponsorship, they pulled out of their deal.
The matter was taken to court this week. Etihad now sponsor the Ferrari F1 team.
Tags: 2007, Aldar, Etihad, Force India, Kingfisher, Spyker, Vijay Mallya
Posted in Ferrari, Force India, News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 - Posted by Formula1Blogger
Adrian Sutil is expected to sign with his current team Force India within the next 2 weeks. The driver is out of contract at the end of 2009, however a clause in his contract allows Force India to retain him if Sutil agrees. His manager, Manfred Zimmermann has been speaking about the negotiations to the SID news agency,
“We have several possibilities. Force India is a good option and probably the best one.”
Sutil has been linked with McLaren as a possible team mate to Lewis Hamilton, however that has seemed to cool since rumours of Kimi Raikkonen or Nick Heidfeld are trounced around as other options for the possible McLaren seat. Zimmermann has also described the new contract offer from Force India as “very interesting”.
For more information on the Formula 1 driver lineup for 2010, check out our Ultimate Guide.
Tags: Adrian Sutil, Drivers 2010, Force India, Manfred Zimmermann
Posted in Force India, News | No Comments »
Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
Many people believe that this will be Giancarlo Fisichella’s last weekend in Formula 1 now he has left Force India for a drive at Ferrari while Felipe Massa is recovering from injury. However Felipe Massa will be back for next season and he will drive alongside Fernando Alonso who is replacing the outgoing Kimi Raikkonen, so where will the 36 year old Italian Fisichella go now?
He has had a less than impressive time since joining Ferrari, but he is refusing to rule out a move back to Force India. He said:
“Why not? It is open. It could be Force India. There are a lot of teams without drivers so far.”
“It is a bit frustrating,” he said. “I would be disappointed, but I am doing my best. It is not easy to jump from Force India and jump to the Ferrari car, which has completely different handling and completely different behaviour.
“I have driven for 14 years in F1 how I want and now I need to change, in braking and downshifting, my style of driving. I am doing my best. In the last couple of races, the race pace was good, the problem was the qualifying session. Here in the long runs I had the same pace as Kimi.”
For more information on the Formula 1 driver lineup for 2010, check out our Ultimate Guide.
Tags: Drivers 2010, Ferrari, Force India, Giancarlo Fisichella
Posted in Ferrari, Force India, News | No Comments »
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 - Posted by Jack Sargeant
On lap one of last week’s Brazilian Grand Prix there was a collision between the German Force India driver Adrian Sutil and Italian Toyota driver Jarno Trulli, wiping both out of the race. Trulli went over and aggressively confronted Sutil despite the 5 inch height handicap the Italian had. This confrontation got Trulli a £6,000 fine.
However in today’s Thursday press conference prior to tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Friday practice day sparks flew again as there was heated exchanges between the two drivers. The exchanges that were recorded are below:
JT: “Obviously it was very disappointing to end the race like that, especially on the first lap. I think I had all the reason to be extremely furious. I’ve got all the evidence to show that I was there and was next to him, and tomorrow we are going to discuss about it.”
AS: “There’s nothing to discuss, it was quite an obvious incident. In the end it was very disappointing for myself, even more because I was the one who was driving and he lost control of his car and crashed into my back. It was his problem. I don’t know why he’s freaking out like that to be honest.”
JT: “I don’t know if you’re blind but I can clearly show you my front wing is next to your front wing.”
AS: “But you’re trying to overtake around me the outside on the kerb. There was not a problem. You were just not going off the power. The same happened in Barcelona where you lost control again and crashed again into a Force India car. You have to sometimes respect the limits of the car. If you’ve nowhere to go, you have to back off. That’s how racing is. I don’t know how long you want to learn it.”
JT: “In Barcelona I spun and he hit me because he cut the kerb, cut the circuit completely, and he didn’t slow down.”
AS: “I didn’t hit you. You hit me. I don’t know what is your problem. I really don’t understand.”
Tags: Adrian Sutil, Force India, Jarno Trulli, Toyota
Posted in Force India, News, Toyota | No Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009 - Posted by Formula1Blogger
Today, Force India have confirmed that they will be appointing Otmar Szafnauer as Chief Operation Officer (COO) within the team. Szafnauer will take over from Simon Roberts who has recetly completed his 1 year placement from McLaren Applied Technologies.
Szafnauer has some experience in F1, after working at Honda Racing F1 and British American Racing in the late 90s. Szafnauer will focus on ensuring all operations run smoothly across track and factory, working closely still with their partners McLaren and Mercedes-Benz.
Vijay Mallyer said in a statement released today:
“We are confident that Otmar, with his wealth of F1 experience, will be a worthy successor and will continue the strong upward trend we have seen in the last half of the season.”
Both Simon and Otmar will work together over the remaining two races to ensure a smooth transition.
As you know, Force India have relied heavily on the McLaren team over recent times, with the Woking-based team heavily involved in the development of their car. Force India have seen some fruits of this relationship in recent times with both drivers showing some great race performances worthy of Ferrari or McLaren.
Tags: Force India, Management, McLaren, Vijay Mallyer
Posted in Force India, McLaren | No Comments »
