By IANS,
New Delhi : Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil is happy with his eighth place finish in the qualifying race Saturday and feels the team will be “more competitive” during Sunday’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix than they were in the previous race in South Korea.
Force India finished tenth and eleventh in the Korean GP, which was also the latest addition in the season.
Sutil’s eighth pole position at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) is one of his best in the season while his team-mate Paul Di Resta will begin the race from the 12th place.
“We’ve been saying all week that this is a special race for us so I’m very happy with today’s qualifying performance. We are so determined to do well here and today’s result is the first step towards that,” Sutil said.
“P8 is one of my best qualifying results of the season and I think it was the maximum we could achieve from the session. The balance of the car was excellent and I really enjoy this circuit, which seems to suit my driving style. But tomorrow is the important day and now we have to think hard about the strategy we will run. I feel very comfortable with the car and I think we will be more competitive than we were in Korea,” he said.
Di Resta was disappointed with his performance but hopes to turn up better for the final race.
“Starting P12 is a bit disappointing really, because we looked quite strong this morning. But I struggled with a bit of understeer in the high-speed corners and we couldn’t fix it during the session. I think the conditions cooled a little bit, which maybe didn’t help us because I couldn’t get the balance quite where I wanted it,” he said.
“I feel that points are still achievable tomorrow and we seem quite strong on the longer runs. There’s a hard task ahead, but I will stay focussed and try to do the best job possible in the team’s home race.”
Team principal and managing director Vijay Mallya was also delighted with his team’s performance and hoped to get the fans’ support Sunday.
“Another excellent day of track action at Buddh International Circuit and I’m delighted to see a Sahara Force India starting the very first Indian Grand Prix from the fourth row of the grid. The whole team has worked very hard to bring our final upgrade package here this weekend and I think that showed in our performance today,” he said.
“Adrian clearly loves this circuit and was on top form this afternoon. Paul has also been very strong, but unfortunately he lost the sweet spot he had with the car this morning and missed out on making Q3.
“Still, we know we have a strong car for tomorrow and I’m hopeful both drivers can be in the hunt for points. It’s our home race and I hope all the fans will get behind Sahara Force India in what will be a spectacular and historic moment for India,” he said.