It would be great for all if Vijay Mallya’s squad can continue their form over the winter and into the new season, but this is a tall order. The Silverstone-based team are up against the well-funded Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull squads. However, if one thing can be learned from last season, it is that you should never rule out the smaller outfits, and more importantly, the talented people who work for them.

Force India continue their relationship with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz, the power plant proving to be worthy of its place in the back of many cars on the grid. Even Red Bull Racing were after a Norbert Haug-looking signature on a contract. But the association with McLaren also provides a gearbox and technical support, which has undoubtedly helped the squad push forward and ahead of the midfield.

The third car from Force India (the second designed under complete control of Mallya) is an evolution of the 2009 VJM02, although the team insist they have made big strides with the rear, developing the diffuser being a key area. The externals show a higher nose and shark-fin engine cover, a revised front wing, smaller and curvier sidepods and no Newey-dip.

The livery adorning the car is pretty much identical to last year’s, which is no bad thing – I quite like the green and orange mix and depicts the team’s Indian roots. In terms of sponsors, it is always good to see a variety of logos on the car, especially as Force India are one of the lesser-funded teams. Unfortunately, it is also worthy of note that most of the companies shown on the car’s bodywork are owned by or related in one way or another to Vijay Mallya. Still, money is money, as they say.

Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi continue to pilot the Force India, and while consistency can prove helpful in team stability and chassis development, one has to start considering whether Sutil is worthy of his contract. In 2009, Giancarlo Fisichella finally found his groove with the VJM02 and started to show some promise with the car. And although Sutil had some flashes of brilliance, he all-too-often binned it.

Sitting opposite the German is former Red Bull racer Vitantonio Liuzzi – a driver whom I’ve often presumed fashion took precedence over race craft. While Liuzzi maybe a hit with the fans, his results haven’t always been quite so enlightening. However, having only driven a handful of races in 2009, Liuzzi could be given the benefit of the doubt, and retaining a full-time drive in 2010, the Italian driver whom so many speak highly of will be under the spotlight. 2010 will his time to shine, if he can.

It would be a great story if Force India can maintain their momentum from last year and take the challenge to the big four. I fear though that when all the teams get underway in Bahrain, Mallya’s squad will be back in the midfield again.

Force India’s car designation system refers to the initial of the original three team owner’s forenames, Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michel Mol, the final number being an incremental numbering system that for 2010, has reached 3. Hence, VJM03.

Original article by BlogF1.

Meet The Cars: Force India VJM03

Adrian Sutil’s Force India wiggled as he entered the fast and sweeping corner that makes up the Abbey chicane. Sutil corrected the wiggle on the VJM02 but then it seemed to bottom slightly on the rear left – although that could have been the camber of the track – and ran wide over the grass. There was no locking of any brakes, indicating that Sutil either didn’t brake, or more likely that he suffered some kind of brake failure. Sutil skated over the gravel and impacted the barrier quite hard, but thankfully it wasn’t head-on and instead a side impact.

The G-meter light came on for Sutil’s accident – an device that measures the G-force and lights when the impact is substantial enough. This means Sutil has to pay the medical centre a visit, but so far he seems perfectly fine.

I had a brake problem and then had no brakes going into the complex. I pushed on the pedal but there wasn’t anything. I tried to avoid a big accident but it was impossible so I crashed really hard.

I’m completely okay, I was just taken to the medical centre for some checks as it was a big crash. Adrian Sutil.

Fortunately Adrian is okay, and we take any potential car problem that could cause an accident like that very seriously. We will fully understand what happened and ensure that it is addressed. Dominic Harlow, Chief Race Engineer.

Sutil had been driving superbly well all weekend, and managed to haul his Mercedes-powered Force India to P3 in the afternoon free practice session. The improvements made to the car are clearly helping, and Sutil looked to be in the zone until this accident. Unfortunately, both Force Indias are now out of qualifying, along with the two Scuderia Toro Rossos and Lewis Hamilton.

Original article by BlogF1.

Silverstone 2009: Sutil Stops Qualifying After Heavy Shunt

It’s one of the sport’s ultimate what ifs, and it is very hard to judge a driver who hasn’t actually proven themselves one way or the other, but to speculate is interesting, and that is exactly what this post is about. Of the drivers competing in 2009, do any deserve a better car, a greater chance of proving themselves…

Nico Rosberg

Being the son of a former world champion will always bring with it a great expectation. Keke was a fine driver who showed consistency like few others. Nico though has had a harder time of it. Like his father, Nico was given his break by Williams, but unfortunately the timing was quite different. In 1982, Keke joined the team on the back of their two consecutive constructors titles. It wasn’t all smiles and praise as the team started to endure mixed results, but Keke won his world title in his first campaign with Williams, and showed tenacity while the squad slipped down the rankings.

For Nico, he joined Williams when they were already quite firmly in a slump, which may have been his saving grace as with it comes understanding. In a clearly uncompetitive car, Rosberg Jr has shown he has talent, and a strong run of points finishes towards the tail end of 2007 were impressive. Even more impressive were his two podiums in 2008. Finishing second in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix is surely both actually and emotionally Rosberg’s greatest result thus far, completing a race where all about him others were falling off the road and retiring.

2009 has once again proving to be a bit of a let down so far. The car is okay, as is the engine, but through a combination of errors from both team and driver, Nico has so far failed to stand on the podium, despite the FW31 looking very competitive in free practices. The experience of Williams should be guiding Nico to greatness, but alas it looks to be the other way around at the moment, with Rosberg guiding the team.

Does Nico have the talent to compete with the best? Lewis Hamilton seems to think so, and Rosberg’s championship winning GP2 season was impressive. The German pilot out-scored Heikki Kovalainen to take the title, and although both pilots equalled each other on wins in 2005, Nico managed 4 poles and 5 fastest laps to Heikki’s 2 poles and 1 fastest lap. Kovalainen is currently sitting in a McLaren and not enjoying his 2009 Formula One campaign, nor did the Finn do spectacularly well last time around. Would Rosberg do any better though?

Heikki Kovalainen

Speaking of Heikki, does he deserve a better car than he is currently driving? The McLaren MP4-24 is far from an all-conquering machine, and team mate Lewis Hamilton has been getting increasingly frustrated with it this year, telling the media that the team have not given him a machine which he can defend his title with. The Briton has scored some points though and looked, on occasion, quite competitive.

Conversely, Heikki has barely finished a race this season, failing to even get around the opening lap in the first two races. He has scored with the 2009 McLaren, but currently sits on half the points of his team mate. Previously, Kovalainen couldn’t match Hamilton in 2008 and while the Briton took the world championship, Heikki finished in seventh on just over half the points of his team mate. It wasn’t a great performance, but there were glimmers of hope. In 2007, Kovalainen’s debut year, the Finn got off to a slow start, but by the time the drivers had completed the final race, Heikki had comprehensively beaten his much more experienced team mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Previous to Formula One and as mentioned in relation to Nico Rosberg, Heikki did well in GP2 and missed out on the 2005 title by just 15 points. Finishing second is still a good performance, but one has to wonder why this hasn’t translated into Formula One. Would Kovalainen blitz the field if he was given a decent car? Does he have enough talent, or was 2005, [2006 spent testing] and 2007 the peak of his motor racing career?

Sebastien Buemi

Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi has proven to be a bit of a surprise this year. Being the only rookie in the field, Buemi has already shown up his multiple ChampCar champion team mate Sebastien Bourdais, and brought the Scuderia Toro Rosso home in points-paying positions twice already. In the opening round Bourdais scored, but unfortunately for him, Buemi scored better. At the third round in China, Buemi scored again, and currently sits on three points. It is, by all measures, a good start to his debut campaign.

Prior to Formula One, Buemi didn’t look particularly special, finishing in sixth in his first full GP2 season. Over the winter the Swiss driver competed in the GP2 Asia series and managed to finish second after one win and a string of second places. Compared to Rosberg and Kovalainen in 2005 though, Buemi looks vaguely average.

However, to finish in the points in a Scuderia Toro Rosso is not bad. Although the car is often said to be similar to the race-winning Red Bull, it is actually quite a different motor, being powered by a different engine and managed by a different team of people. Thus far, and while eating humble pie, I have to say that Buemi doesn’t look too bad of a driver and in a couple of years will deserve a shot in a better car. But what say you? Is Buemi any good, or are his results so far completely fluke?

Adrian Sutil

Having competed in Formula One since 2007, Adrian Sutil has endured the worse of all the cars currently mentioned. The Spyker wasn’t up to much and although the Force India he now drives is an improvement, it is still hogging the back row of the grid. However, on occasion Sutil has driven the wheels of the car and positioned himself in places that really he shouldn’t be in.

We all remember the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix where Sutil managed to haul himself up to fourth and was defending his position to the reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen. Unfortunately, Raikkonen crashed into Sutil and his race was over. It wasn’t the only time a Ferrari came into contact with Sutil’s Force India that year as the Scuderia’s pitstop technique often resulted one of their drivers pulling out in front of Sutil. It became almost comical due to the amount of times it happened.

Again this season Sutil has put in a couple of fine performances, finishing in ninth from sixteenth in the season’s opening round, and running in sixth in China before losing the tail of his car and clouting the barrier. However, the fact that the German is able to get his car into these positions shows maturity and skill on his part. Is it enough though. What would happen if Adrian found himself in a Brawn or Red Bull? Would he be winning, or would it be too much for him?

Original article by BlogF1.

Who Deserves A Better Shot At The Big Time?

Adrian Sutil was just trying to move out of the way although it appeared he left it a little late, citing some confusion in an interview with the BBC shortly after he had returned to the paddock. The young German driver visited Mark Webber in his motorhome to apologise, but that would have done little to console the Australian who came to Bahrain off the back of his best result in his Formula One career.

I just tried to stay in my position to get a clear start to the lap. It was a misunderstanding and I apologised to Mark after the end of the session. Adrian Sutil.

The Red Bull RB5 has decent pace as shown by Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel. Sebastian managed to qualify third for tomorrow’s race and had Webber not been impeded, he almost certainly would have made it through to the final qualifying session. Instead, Red Bull will now have a difficult time in working out how to give Mark a decent strategy so that he can improve his position in the race.

Although Webber initially qualified in P19, Sutil’s demotion of three grid slots means that the Australian has been promoted to P18 while Sutil will start the race in P19.

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain 2009: Adrian Sutil Receives Three Grid Slot Penalty

In 2008 and during wet weather at Monaco, Sutil was running in a very well deserved fourth place towards the end of the race. The safety car had just returned to the pitlane and the drivers were once again racing on the drying track. Coming out of the tunnel and heading down to the chicane, Kimi Raikkonen – who was right behind Sutil – lost the rear of his Ferrari as the Finn ran over some water. The resulting accident took Sutil out of the race as Raikkonen effectively used the Force India as a brake. Although a racing accident, it was painful to watch Sutil stalk back to the pitlane, his head in his hands and clearly very distraught.

Today, the trained pianist had a similar march back to the pitlane to endure, although this time it was more his fault than anyone else’s. Again, Sutil was on track within the vicinity of Kimi Raikkonen, but the accident was all of Sutil’s doing. It doesn’t make it much easier though, as the young driver had driven his heart out to be in the position he was in.

I had prepared myself for a hard race and that’s exactly what it was. We took a risk with the strategy with a very early stop and it was a long way to go with one set of tyres. Then it started to rain again and it was very hard to keep the car on the circuit.

Sometimes even in a straight line in fourth or fifth gear I was struggling with aquaplaning and I was very lucky to keep the car on the circuit for so long. Adrian Sutil.

Adrian was then a little more philosophical about the incident and admitted that today’s loss of result reminded him of Monaco last year.

It’s a shame – you focus so much and think you can do it, but the car was just out of control at the end. I had the same feeling as Monaco – it’s hard to believe when you are in the car and then suddenly you lose it and it’s all over from such a great position.

But you have to get over it, we had a great performance today. It’s good for the team and I think we deserved the points, I just feel bad for everyone here. It was a very good strategy call, but that’s what we had to do: take a risk. Adrian Sutil.

Compared to his much more experienced team mate Giancarlo Fisichella, Sutil is driving very well. His abilities in the wet weather are certainly good, as at other times last year, when the rain fell Sutil drove well. But being in a largely under-performing car, it is far from easy for the team to get into the point-paying positions. I still believe Force India can and will score this year, but it will require a little more luck and for their drivers to remain on the circuit for the full race distance.

Original article by BlogF1.

Shanghai 2009: Adrian Sutil Should Avoid Walking Under Ladders

I’m very disappointed with the mistake I made in the pitstop. I was just confused with last year as we were always in the last slot in the pitlane, so I just overshot and had to be pulled back into the pits.

I’m really sad about this as I think we could have got a good result. Giancarlo Fisichella.

It isn’t the first time that a driver has missed his garage, and Martin Brundled suggested in his commentary that this isn’t the first for Fisichella to do this either. The Force Indias looked quite racey today and undoubtedly the team may have been able to scrape a point, especially as Jarno Trulli was later given a time penalty for passing under the safety car.

Team mate Adrian Sutil also had a fairly competitive car and finished in tenth. Had the German pilot not got caught up in the first corner incident with Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber, it is possible that Sutil could have gone on to score for the team. Unfortunately, Force India now look towards Malaysia and will be wanting to put this weekend behind them.

Original article by BlogF1.

Australia 2009: Fisichella Apologises For Pitstop Blunder

Last year was considered a disappointment by Mallya, who during the course of the season went about making changes to the management structure as well as negotiating a very special deal with McLaren. The result is a team that according to Adrian Sutil, has a much more cohesive bond, a pleasing atmosphere and morale that is riding high. It will take more than a smile to haul themselves further up the grid, but it would appear to be a good start.

The VJM02 was one of the last cars to be launched, only beating the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR4 and the Brawn GP BGP 001. However, it’s debut test at Jerez in early March showed promise and both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil generally kept the machine from the bottom of the tables. While testing is by far no measure of real pace come race day, the results of the initial sessions in Spain were encouraging. The results from the second group test at Barcelona showed more weakness, as the improvements made to the rival cars was made more apparent. However, nearest team STR have weaknesses as well, so it isn’t all doom and gloom for Force India.

If the team are to prove to be serious about competing in Formula One with the bigger and better funded teams, Force India need to start scoring points. Failing to move themselves off the bottom of the championship table in 2008 was not a great result, and after promising a Q2 performance early on in the year, it took the squad until the mid-point before this goal was realised. For 2009, Force India need to hit the tarmac running and not look back. They need to control their enthusiasm for setting unreachable targets, keep their heads down and race.

The shake up in technical regulations will help the team as some of their competitors get it right, while others may get it wrong. The potential mix up in performances could provide a window for Force India to sneak through, but only if they themselves get it right. With expertise from McLaren, a gear box, KERS device and engine all from Woking and Stuttgart, there is little reason why the Silverstone-based squad cannot do exactly this.

I would expect Force India to score their first points in 2009, but talk of podiums and Q1 results are a long way off. They may prove to be a match for Scuderia Toro Rosso, and possibly even close to Williams depending on how they have done over the winter. But the big results won’t happen for a few more years. Force India will improve, but I think Vijay Mallya will be talking of a disappointing 2009 this time next year.

Previous Force India Previews

• F12008 Force India Preview
• F12007 Spyker Preview
• F12006 Midland Preview

Original article by BlogF1.

F12009: Force India Preview

However, the information collected may be worthless as Scuderia Toro Rosso don’t have a car yet. Whereas rivals Force India now do. Having undergone a shakedown last week and completed some laps of Jerez yesterday, the VJM02 arguably puts the Silverstone-based squad ahead. They have one very experienced driver in Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil is entering his third season of Formula One driving. With a strong Mercedes-Benz engine and all the other gubbins that come with it, Force India could be about to take a step up the grid order this year. Of course, looking at the RB5 – STR’s future car – it might not be as straight forward as you think.

Scuderia Toro Rosso have an experienced racer in Sebastien Bourdais, but the Frenchman has completed most of his running in the American Champ Car series. Bourdais’s first foray in Formula One didn’t go quite as well as he would have liked, but there were some strong performances. Conversely, Sebastien Buemi is a rookie and will start his very first season of Formula One in March when the teams convene in Melbourne for the first race. Sebastien Buemi has spent a lot of time in the car though, testing both the STR3 and the RB4. Scuderia Toro Rosso also have a decent engine with the Ferrari, although the package is less complete when compared to Force India’s set up.

So which team do you think will finish the 2009 season on top? The team that won a race in 2008, or the team that have a car already? Scuderia Toro Rosso versus Force India…

Image © Franz Pammer/GEPA Pictures.

Original article by BlogF1.

Who Will Be Faster In 2009: STR vs. Force India

The mood before the season start in Australia was one of buoyancy and optimism, but the team were well aware of their uphill struggle to rejuvenate the failed Spyker project and despite the anticipation, team owner Vijay Mallya did his best to quell expectation and potential results. The testing of Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella was certainly welcomed publicity though, only topped by the statement issued by the former Toyota, Williams and Jordan driver that the test was only in kindness to Toyota’s former sponsor when Schumacher failed to get the drive.

Instead, it was Renault refugee Fisichella who claimed the second seat alongside Adrian Sutil and although the Italian had been outclassed by Fernando Alonso and then Heikki Kovalainen in preceding seasons, the experience of the former Jordan race winner was surely enough to boost confidence in the team. However, testing was very trying for the squad and expectation for 2008 was kept to a minimum.

The start of the year was nothing spectacular and Force India started to rack up a few retirements; some from mechanical failure, some from silly driver errors. On occasion, both Fisichella and Sutil found themselves caught up in other driver’s accidents, but it should be noted they also created some all on their own. With the reasonably powerful Ferrari engine though, Force India were hopeful and the goal set by the team to get out of Q1 quickly became a potential reality. Race pace may have been lacking, but qualifying wasn’t going too badly.

From the offset the squad appeared to have good pace in qualifying and Fisichella in particular enjoyed a spate of 16th place grid slots. However, the elusive extra tenth or two proved hard to find and the goal wasn’t realised until Italy. In difficult circumstances which saw Sebastian Vettel take his and Scuderia Toro Rosso’s maiden pole, Giancarlo thumped his VJM01 into a fine twelfth place. Unfortunately, Fisichella couldn’t convert the grid slot into a race result as an incident with Coulthard damaged his front wing. Moments later Fisichella found himself in the barriers, the wing damaged enough to cause the end of his race.

Fisichella’s battle with some of the sport’s leading drivers in Italy wasn’t the only time the Force Indias punched above their weight this year though, and team mate Adrian Sutil also put in some sterling drives in the sister car. Monaco will perhaps be forever etched in the German’s mind as the day he went from hero to zero through little fault of his own.

Quickly becoming a bit of a master around the principality, Sutil revelled in the tricky wet conditions at Monaco and found himself in fourth as the race drew to a close. Unfortunately, an error from the chasing Kimi Raikkonen resulted in the Ferrari slamming in to the back of the similarly powered Force India. Sutil retired and was seen disconsolate in the garage.

For Force India, I believe 2008 was a good year. They may have failed to score any points, but the team and the fans knew it was an uphill struggle. Force India have experienced difficulties and made some errors. But the squad’s vision of the future, combined with funding from Mallya’s companies and a possible alliance with McLaren could see the back-row minnows move forward. The Indian-flavoured team have passion, certainly more than Midland or Spyker had in year’s previous, and with this they can at least hope to move off the bottom of the tables. Sutil has reminded us again this year that he is no slouch and given the right mix of conditions, set up and luck, he can put his car in places it probably shouldn’t be.

Fisichella on the other hand has been slightly embarrassed again; his team mate proving to be a good match for the experienced race winner. Being out-qualified eight times by a pilot with 177 less race starts under his belt is not something Giancarlo should shrug off lightly. However, Fisichella’s strength lies with bonding the team together, providing quality feedback and using his wealth of knowledge to aspire the squad into believing they can do it. With a good car, these two drivers could score some regular points.

Undoubtedly, we’ll be watching the possible collaboration with McLaren closely, especially if the rules regarding customer cars are relaxed. Although it won’t come to much if Mercedes are unable to deliver the engines to the team’s headquarters because of a playful Eddie Jordan.

Force India 2008 Championship Results	Giancarlo Fisichella (Grid) Race	Adrian Sutil (Grid) Race
Australian Grand Prix Albert Park	(17) Retired	(19) Retired
Malaysian Grand Prix Sepang	(17) 12	(20) Retired
Bahrain Grand Prix Sakhir	(18) 12	(20) 19
Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Catalunya	(19) 10	(20) Retired
Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul Park	(19) Retired	(20) 16
Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo	(20) Retired	(19) Retired
Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	(17) Retired	(16) Retired
French Grand Prix Magny Cours	(18) 18	(19) 19
British Grand Prix Silverstone	(20) Retired	(19) Retired
German Grand Prix Hockenheim	(20) 16	(19) 15
Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring	(18) 15	(20) Retired
European Grand Prix Valencia	(18) 14	(20) Retired
Belgian Grand Prix Spa Francorchamps	(20) 17	(18) 13
Italian Grand Prix Monza	(12) Retired	(20) 19
Singapore Grand Prix Singapore	(20) 14	(19) Retired
Japanese Grand Prix Fuji Speedway	(20) Retired	(19) Retired
Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai	(20) 17	(19) Retired
Brazilian Grand Prix Interlagos	(19) 18	(20) 16
Driver’s Championship Position	(0pts) 19th	(0pts) 20th
Constructor’s Championship Position	(0pts) 10th

Recommended Reading

• F12008: Force India Preview
• Force India Show Great Determination
• Adrian Sutil’s Stock Rises?
• Force India Get Into Q2
• Force India & McLaren Alliance On Hold

Original article by BlogF1.

F12008: Force India Weren’t The Force They Thought They Would Be

The practice run was red flagged four minutes from completion due to the severity of the rain making running very dangerous. The drains in the Monza pitlane became overwhelmed and even the drivers sheltering in the garage ended up getting wet feet as water trickled in from all quarters. Kazuki Nakajima experienced the most notable incident, sliding off at the first Lesmos and bouncing over the gravel, although Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Adrian Sutil and Nelson Piquet Jr all spun or took the scenic route around corners.

Monza 2008: Friday Free Practice One

Original article by BlogF1.

Monza 2008: Friday Morning Practice

According to Autosport, Whitmarsh has spoken of a problem with Hamilton’s tyre, perhaps after running over the debris remaining from Nico Rosberg’s sizable accident. The incident that left pieces of the Williams all over the track forced the drivers to weave around the area, and it is thought that this may have resulted in Hamilton picking up a slow puncture.

We had a look, there was a bit of floor damage, we checked and when a tyre comes in flailing. We checked it and structurally it was fine. But he had a puncture on the slow down lap as well. We were lucky in that regard. It was a right rear puncture… probably from debris from Nico’s accident. Martin Whitmarsh.

McLaren are lucky the race was called to an end at the two hour mark and not allowed to continue to lap 78. Also among Whitmarsh’s explanations was one for Heikki’s apparent stall on the grid. Kovalainen’s race was essentially ruined by his failing to leave the grid on the warm-up lap, and the Finnish driver was forced to start from the pitlane in last position. However, it turns out that the stall was not Heikki’s fault.

It was a software glitch that robbed him of control of the clutch before the start, so we had to reset that, so he was very, very unlucky and did a fantastic job. Martin Whitmarsh.

And as reported just now on BlogF1, Mike Gascoyne has asked the Monaco stewards to look at the Raikkonen incident that saw the retirement of Adrian Sutil from a stunning fourth place. Had Sutil finished, it would have been his and the team’s first points and an award justly deserved after the German’s race. However, both Sutil and Gascoyne were summoned to the stewards’ office anyway, although not for what they were expecting.

Sutil had passed a string of cars on lap 13, including Rubens Barrichello, Kazuki Nakajima and Nelson Piquet Jr., all done while the circuit was covered under yellow flags.

The stewards do want to warn the driver of car no.20 as to his future behaviour in relation to appendix H, Chapter 2, Article 4.1.2b of the international sporting code. Steward’s Statement.

The stewards have issued Sutil with a warning, and undoubtedly if the German driver commits a similar infraction in the future will be more heavily reprimanded.

Original article by BlogF1.

Monaco 2008: Immediate Updates On Sutil & Hamilton

Before discussing Sutil though, it should be noted that Force India have taken issue with Raikkonen’s driving to the stewards, but quite what the team hope to achieve from this is not all that obvious. Mike Gascoyne was particularly upset, stating that had Sutil hit Raikkonen, they would have been in trouble. Personally, I don’t see how, and it sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me.

The frustration is that if that had been a Force India driver hitting a world champion we would expect to get a one or two race ban, but when it is the other way around it is disappointing that the stewards… well you know I hope they look at it and act accordingly. We have asked the stewards immediately to look at it because they should do.

That sort of driving, taking someone else out needlessly, as I said if that had been someone at the back, a young guy doing it, they would get a penalty. But it doesn’t seem to happen the other way around. Mike Gascoyne.

I don’t think Raikkonen did what he did on purpose. It is certainly disappointing, but it isn’t like the stewards can roll back the clock and change history. Or even remove Raikkonen’s points – he too lost out in the accident and failed to score. Hopefully Gascoyne will calm down this evening and focus on the team and the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight.

Anyway, on with Adrian Sutil…

So far in the 2008 season, Sutil has remained pretty much at the back of the pack alongside his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Since Super Aguri withdrew, the Silverstone-based team have actually been at the back. However, Force India are in Formula One for the longhaul and new owner Vijay Mallya has been injecting much needed funds into the team. Undoubtedly, their aim is slowly move forward and gain competitiveness as the next few years pass. Understandably, I can see where Fisichella fits into all this. But judging by Sutil’s first six races of the year, one has to wonder why many believe he is good enough for Formula One.

Australia and Malaysia were both retired from for Sutil, and he finished in ninteenth in Bahrain. Spain was Adrian’s third retirement and Turkey brought him sixteenth. Monaco would have been fourth or fifth, but alas, it goes down as a retirement in the record book. Team mate Giancarlo Fisichella hasn’t done much better, but it is better nonetheless. The Italian half of the duo generally qualifies better and has two twelfth-place finishes so far in 2008 as well as a tenth from the Spanish round.

It was disappointing to see Sutil retire from the race this afternoon, and no doubt this was the team’s best chance to score points this year. And with their nearest rivals Scuderia Toro Rosso scoring again, it is unlikely Force India will be able to beat their Italian pitlane neighbours by the end of the season. However, while Sutil drove very well today, the circumstances in which his ‘result’ occurred need to be taken into consideration. When looking at the whole season so far, one has to say that the German pianist is not performing all that well.

One swallow does not make a summer, but unfortunately the same commentator who compared Lewis Hamilton’s drive to the Monaco-master Ayrton Senna five times today, also believes that Sutil’s performance in the adverse conditions this afternoon is enough to warrant a drive for 2009. As I say, one swallow does not make a summer.

Original article by BlogF1.

Force India Moan As Sutil’s Stock Apparently Rises

A tenth of a second has never mattered as much as now. All the guys at the track and back at the factory are doing everything they possibly can to get every millisecond and we are now tantalisingly close to that competitive midfield group. [...] We’re no longer at the back and though it will get tougher here on in, it’s a golden opportunity for us. Vijay Mallya.

Vijay stating there that they are “no longer at the back”, but failing to mention that in all honesty, all the team are beating at the moment in qualifying are Super Aguri, the odd STR, and a stranded Renault or penalised Williams. Still, it is only a few tenths as the midfield are all relatively close to one another.

Team principal Colin Kolles was also optimistic of his team’s abilities, going as far as suggesting points.

Our targets this time out will be to reach Q2 in qualifying and to score points. We are working very hard to reach these targets and I am confident we will reach them sooner rather than later. Colin Kolles.

I think Force India are perhaps being a little too optimistic, but the improvements are slowly coming their way. Qualifying aside, Fisichella has managed to finish twelfth in the two race distances he has completed, although the team should be concentrating their efforts on team mate Adrian Sutil at the moment. The German driver has failed to finish on two occasions, and his best result so far this year was in Bahrain. He finished in last place behind the Super Aguri’s, although largely thanks to a few incidents earlier in the race.

Original article by BlogF1.

Force India Show Great Determination

Adrian Sutil will be starting from the pitlane having damaged the underside of his chassis during qualifying yesterday. The German spun over the kerbs and Force India have had to rebuild his car for the race. As Sutil was ony meant to start from nineteenth his punishment isn’t too bad, although the rules state that he can only leave the pitlane once all the cars have passed, effectively making Sutil last at the start of the first lap.

Timo Glock has received a couple of penalties, something he doesn’t fully agree with. His gearbox had to be replaced just prior to qualifying, meaning a five-place grid-slot penalty landed his way. And then after qualifying, the stewards awarded the German with another five-place demotion for impeding Mark Webber.

Glock wasn’t the only driver facing the stewards though, as Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button were asked to explain why they set quick laps while the yellow flags were waving. The four escaped with only a reprimand though and will start in their qualifying positions.

And for those watching the race with the a computer to hand, you might want to check out F1Fanatics live blogging of the event. Fellow blogger Keith has organised a way for people to converse while the action is happening on the track. Along with Duncan from vee8, I’ll be helping Keith out with the show and judging from the qualifying event, it should be a lot of fun. You don’t need to sign up for an account or anything, just head on over, type your name into the box and start talking with like-minded fans. Details are below.

That’s just about it. The pre-punished grid can be seen here. Just remember Sutil is starting from the pitlane and Glock is now in nineteenth. Hopefully I’ll see you all an hour or so. I’m off to warm up the espresso maker and get comfy on the sofa.

Original article by BlogF1.

Australia 2008: Pre-Race Updates

Over at BlogF1, I have a series going whereby some guests have written for me. The idea was for some of Formula One’s most talented writers to discuss how they see the driver pairings in the top four teams fair this upcoming season. And before you all ask, vee8’s very own Duncan is due on Monday.

But one of the pairings has not been discussed, and in the spirit of getting guests to post at BlogF1, I thought I’d return the favour and talk a little here. The team is Force India and the drivers in question are Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil. One driver is in the twilight of his career, the other is just starting out. A hot-blooded Italian vs. a quiet and controlled German. Throw in a car that is meant to be slow, but has shocked a few in testing, and the recipe for fireworks is all set. All we need now is a spark…

So why am I keen to see how Fisichella and Sutil work things out this year? Well, I’ll admit I’m a bit of a fan of the Italian. I remember his first full-time season back in 1997, notably the German Grand Prix where he ran Michael Schumacher ragged for a short while. Since then though, Fisichella has always found himself in the wrong car at the wrong time. A move to Benetton should have been his breakthrough, but the team were on the decline. Four years of rebuilding the car in to something that resembled a point-scorer and Fisichella was sent back to Jordan so Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso could collect the glory. The Sauber move was hoped to become a stepping stone to Ferrari, but alas it didn’t happen. And then Fisichella found himself back at Benetton, since renamed Renault, and partnered with the fast Alonso.

Having had his reputation of demoralising team mates shattered by the Spaniard, Fisichella has found solace at Force India, a team that should learn from the experience of the wise campaigner. Giancarlo can build the team around him, develop relationships and hopefully push the squad further and harder, much like he did in the Benetton-days.

Only two things stand in his way: The car and his team mate.

If the team cannot build a decent car then Fisichella’s hard work won’t be rewarded. If new team owner Vijay Mallya doesn’t employ the right minds, then Force India will simply remain at the back, regardless of who’s driving.

The other obstacle, Adrian Sutil, could potentially do a lot of damage though. Fisichella is known to be fast, especially in comparison to his team mate. Ignoring the fact that Alonso comprehensively beat him in 2005 and 2006, and that Heikki Kovalainen beat him last time around, Fisichella has similarly destroyed many a team mate himself. Wurz and Button have both felt his wrath, Sato and Firman are two more and as recently as 2004, Massa got a good thrashing as well.

But Sutil is pretty quick as well. At least, I reckon so. For sure, he’s yet to score a point, lead a race or challenge a world champion. Running at the top of the practice tables in Monaco while it was pouring with rain impressed me, and I think he has the talent needed to progress well in the sport, even though it may cost Fisichella dearly. If Sutil, in equal equipment, ends up finishing 2008 ahead of his team mate, then I fear the writing’s on the wall for the Fizz. Four years straight would probably be too much for any team boss to take. The fireworks resulting from such pressures could be very interesting to watch, but I don’t think we’re going to see any pops, bangs or whizzes this year.

I’m hoping that Giancarlo can do a Coulthard and find his fighting spirit again. I’m hoping he and Sutil have a great year and battle their way up to the midfield. Fisichella hasn’t got much time left in the sport; he’ll never become world champion now and even further wins are probably out of the window. But if he plays his cards right, focuses on driving and avoids the political shenanigans, he could very easily join DC in the grumpy, old, but still quick club.

This post was originally written for and published at vee8.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fisichella: Grumpy & Old, But Still Quick?

Gone once again is the Dutch orange of Spyker, the Force India squad being launched in Mumbai with a white and gold livery, highlighting many new sponsors on the largely unchanged car. However, despite the VJM01 being little more than an updated F8-VII from 2007, the team have already stated that this campaign will be one of transition. The squad are apparently already beginning to work on the 2009 machine.

The Drivers

Looking at the driver pairing alone, it seems almost strange that the Force India team have more experience than McLaren at the top of the grid, and Scuderia Toro Rosso, their nearest rivals. Adrian Sutil has been retained, as expected, in the second seat, and ready to start his second season in Formula One. The German showed promise in 2007, driving at times above his expectations and showing then team mate Christijan Albers a thing or two. In fact, so much is his potential the rookie was linked to the second McLaren seat for much of November and December. However, Adrian had a contract for this year and while I’m sure he would have defected had the opportunity arisen, McLaren went with Heikki Kovalainen in the end. But to be considered highlights what many of us think; he’s actually quite talented.

Sutil will have a team mate from which he can learn from in 2008 as well, an experienced race winner who should, hopefully, prove his critics wrong. Renault refugee Giancarlo Fisichella joined the team after a successful test session where he once again demoralised Ralf Schumacher. The time around it was in the same car, sort of, in 1997. Back then Fisichella and Schumacher were beginning their first full seasons in Formula One, and despite a few wheel-banging moments, Giancarlo proved he had a lot more talent than Ralf. However, it was the German who went on to successive wins in the Williams while Fisichella remained in the midfield having made a series of poor decisions. With Renault, his fortunes appeared to change, but his dominance of team mates came to an abrupt end as Fernando Alonso powered to two championships. Fisichella could only power himself to two victories.

The Car

But with Force India Giancarlo has a chance to redeem himself and help build a team for the future. Fisichella’s unquestionable ability to develop a car is something the Force really needed and must utilise. Although the VJM01 remains largely unchanged from 2007, it wasn’t an absolutely terrible car. And at a recent test Fisichella even manged to place it in fourth after a days running. For sure the lap was set on low-fuel, but the times posted by the midfield have been very closely packed over the winter, and it would appear that a tenth gained here and there could make all the difference.

The team have said they will develop the 2008 car over the season, but it does seem certain that they are almost writing off this year’s campaign as one of transition. Vijay Mallya appears to be here for the long haul, and to start work towards 2009 is a wise move if he wants to bridge the gap to Red Bull, Honda and Toyota.

Only time will tell if Force India can really improve and move off the back row of the grid. But one thing is for certain: The team finally look as though they have their spirit back, and hopefully that spirit will lead them to a handful of points in 2008.

The Prediction

A difficult year for Force India, but one that was expected. The team will largely fight Super Aguri and Scuderia Toro Rosso at the back, but they will be able to collect a few points during wet weather races. Adrian Sutil will have another point-less year with Giancarlo Fisichella hauling in little more than four or five.

Original article by BlogF1.

F12008: Force India

The team have continued to build their own chassis, unlike their direct competition on the grid, Super Aguri and STR, who have used derivatives of the Honda and Red Bull cars respectively in the past. While that may put Force India on the back foot, it does mean the team are well within the rules and affords the team independence in their decision making.

The new car is largely the same as that driven in the final races of 2007, although modified to fit with new regulations regarding electronic devices and head restraints. However, while the car may be similar on the outside the team have been busy developing what they have and improving it little by little over the winter. According to new owner Vijay Mallya, they have already started work on the VJM02, the team’s 2009 machine. This implies that 2008 will another transition year for the team formerly known as Spyker, formerly known as Midland, formerly known as Jordan, although spirits are naturally high and Fisichella thinks they can at least move off the back row by the close of play in November.

This is a huge challenging task of performance improvement and becoming competitive. This is the only sport that I know of where even a fraction of a second is the difference between a wining or losing position. It is exhilarating, challenging and satisfying to be part of a movement where competition is truly at its pinnacle. Vijay Mallya.

Mallya, through his ownership of several companies, most notably Kingfisher whose name adorns an airline and alcoholic beverage brands, has earmarked $120m for the teams first year of competition. Although tiny in comparison to Ferrari and Toyota, the team have always managed to run on a small budget, and looking at the success of Super Aguri last year, as well as the competitiveness of STR towards the end of the 2007 season just shows that money is not necessarily everything if all the puzzle pieces fit together well.

The budget is adequate, there’s the structure, and the right people. The 2009 car is already under development. I want to grow with this team and to carry on racing in F1 for a few more years. Giancarlo Fisichella.

Just how well, or even for how long Force India will be around is anyone’s guess; following the Midland and Spyker history, I refuse to hold my breath. But suffice to say Formula One is on the verge of becoming India’s second sport, with a grand prix on the horizon and a developing economy. Combined with an awful lot of potential fans to reach out to, Force India really could become a Ferrari of the future. But undoubtedly it will take many years of hard work, dedication, failures and successes before anything like that can happen. For now, let’s just hope Mallya sticks at it and Eddie Jordan’s old squad can retain a name long enough for the employees to receive a P60 and the end of the tax year.

Photographs Of The VJM01

Images courtesy of Force India.

Original article by BlogF1.

Force India VJM01: Launch & Photos

Anyway, on with the post: Who should drive the second McLaren next year?

This is a tricky one for me simply because I feel many drivers deserve it, but the McLaren team and their structure and sponsors need to be considered. There are many names floating around at the moment, so let’s consider just a few.

Pedro De La Rosa

Pedro has been McLaren’s test and reserve for what seems like an eternity. The Spaniard stepped up to the plate in 2006 when Juan Pablo Montoya walked away from the team, and Pedro managed a podium as well as some strong, although quiet, performances. Pedro’s knowledge of developing cars is surely one par with Alex Wurz, another long-time tester, and De La Rosa knows and hopefully still gets along with the crew at Woking.

As an older pair of hands, Pedro is safe and will deliver exactly what he can – nothing more and nothing less. For sure he isn’t as gifted as perhaps his team mate, but De La Rosa has experience, charm and knowledge. He is also Spanish, which would undoubtedly smooth the path for the sponsors.

I personally feel Pedro deserves the drive after all he has done for the squad. Before Hamilton was announced for 2007 I was championing De La Rosa’s corner, despite it meaning that the squad would have to field to Spaniards. Of course, we have since realised that Pedro was involved in the spy scandal that ultimately led to the teams exclusion from the constructors title this season. Whether his relationship with Ron Dennis has mirrored that of Alonso’s I do not know, but the smooth-talking tester is still employed by McLaren, so one can only presume he is in with a chance for the drive.

Heikki Kovalainen

Aside from promoting from within, utilising Heikki is possibly the next easiest solution. Simply swapping Fernando Alonso with Heikki would ensure that Renault get their man and Ron has once again partnered a British hopeful alongside a talented Finn. Ring any bells…?

There is speculation that Alonso was only allowed to leave the team if he didn’t join a front-runner. Arguably, that does include Renault as they certainly have the capability to win in 2008. If this is true, then the straight swap is impossible, but it doesn’t rule out Kovalainen. The Finnish driver had a reasonably strong finish to his debut year and began to out-perform his much more experienced team mate Giancarlo Fischella. His name must be on Ron’s list for the future, but would it be too premature to nab him now?

Between Lewis and Heikki, they have contested just 34 races, and if that isn’t a weak lineup I don’t know what is. Yes, both are talented and neither are no longer considered a rookie, but experience plays a key role in Formula One. I honestly feel Hamilton will still need a strong team mate for next year.

Adrian Sutil

Adrian is an intelligent and understated gentleman who has quietly crept into Formula One with little fanfare or fireworks. Competing with the under-performing Spyker in 2007, the German-born classically-trained pianist did well with the orange car. Although Sutil didn’t set the track alight, he generally kept his car on it and showed a high level of race craft and consistency. The point scored in Japan – Spyker’s first and last – must have been a memorable high point of the season for Adrian. Although he didn’t actually earn it on the race track, he was promoted afterwards when a penalty was handed to Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Toro Rosso. Having said that, even ninth is outstanding for Spyker.

Sutil has apparently got a long term contract with Spyker, but this was based on the friendship he has with Colin Kolles. Colin remains with the team but it is unknown at the moment if everything will work out as planned. The Spyker team, now called Force India, are a little unstable at the moment simply because of the unknowns. Indian investor and therefore part owner Vijay Mallya has stated he would like to retain Sutil, but he is aware that many teams are interested in him and the contract may be be moved on.

There are other drivers in the hunt, some are wild speculation (David Coulthard returning, for instance) and others perfectly possible. But for now, it seems like these are the three front runners for the seat. Personally I would have liked to have seen Nico Rosberg in the car, but Frank Williams has a water-tight contract on his young whipper-snapper. I guess out of the three, I’d most like to see Sutil get the drive, but I think it’s fair to say that all of them deserve it in their own way.

Who would you like to see drive the second McLaren next year? Have your say in the comments below.

Original article by BlogF1.

Who Should Partner Lewis Hamilton For 2008?

Following a report from the Race Director, the Stewards of the Meeting decided to impose a penalty of 25 seconds to be added to the elapsed race time of driver N°18, Vitantonio Liuzzi, for having overtaken another competitor while a yellow flag restriction was in place.

Having heard the explanations of both parties and having examined the various documents and other evidence, the Court confirmed the decision of the Panel of the Stewards of the Meeting. FIA Statement.

Of course, Toro Rosso went on to score a magnificent eight points in China with a fourth and sixth place finishes in Shanghai.

Scuderia Toro Rosso, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Spyker, Adrian Sutil, FIA

Original article by BlogF1.

Spyker Keep All Important Point

They will look at it before tomorrow morning. We are all in unanimous agreement that it’s the most difficult corner of the track. David Coulthard.

I don’t know if they will be able to make the changes. It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed for next year, but I’m not too worried about it really. Mark Webber.

It is quite narrow and quick into the pits, so obviously it is not that easy or safe. Maybe we can change the approach so we go straight into the pits like at Monza. Jarno Trulli.

It is a little bit dangerous because when we brake to go into the pitlane we are around 300km/h and it is a bit tricky. It is not safe. We need to put maybe the speed limiter before the corner, but I don’t know if we can do something for tomorrow. Giancarlo Fisichella.

Another piece of interesting news comes from the far end of the pitlane, and from the Spyker garage. Adrian Sutil ran very well in the Friday practice sessions, claiming ninth in the first and sixteenth in the second. It seems as though the German’s prior knowledge of the track coupled with the B-Spec car is doing some wonders. Who knows, maybe even a change of ownership has bolstered the grid-trailing team. Buoyed with enthusiasm, the squad have suggested they are intending to fight for twelfth place in tomorrow’s qualifying sessions. Twelfth?

At the end actually Adrian made quite a big mistake on his new tyre run and I think we are over one lap quicker than we showed, and long run pace looked very competitive. We don’t know what other people have done with fuel levels, but if you look at the long run pace with the first two runs this afternoon, it was very, very competitive.

I think we would be very disappointed if we didn’t make that [Q2]. We seem to be definitely ahead of Super Aguri and matching Honda. He [Sutil] did a 20.5 this morning with a couple of mistakes so he should have done a 20.3, which would have been 12th or 13th, so that is where we are aiming. Mike Gascoyne.

I don’t share Gascoyne’s ambition, but it was an impressive showing from the rookie driver nonetheless. It should also be noted that this isn’t the first time Sutil has troubled the upper echelons of the Friday timing sheet, as the piano-playing driver also ran well at Monaco earlier in the year. Maybe the Spyker can get ahead of a Toro Rosso, possibly even a Super Aguri or Honda. But I think anything higher than 16th is little too much of a fantasy.

Oh, and Nico Rosberg has had to have his engine replaced. Thus, the German driver will forfeit ten grid slots tomorrow after qualifying. On that note, let’s hope team mate Alex Wurz’s morning performance wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

Japanese Grand Prix, Spyker, Adrian Sutil, Mike Gascoyne, Williams, Nico Rosberg

Original article by BlogF1.

Pitlanes, Spykers & Engines

But in 2005, the team was officially sold to the Midland group, renamed and rebranded. This didn’t do much to help the failing squad, and results didn’t really materialise. Tiago Monteiro did get a lucky podium in the US Grand Prix, but that was only because the grid was formed of six cars. By mid-2006, the Midland group pulled out and the team was sold to Dutch sports car company, Spyker. A further renaming ceremony and a hastily rebranded car raced in the final Grands Prix of last year bring us up to the present day.

How will Spyker fair in their first full season of racing? Well, they have a few good things going for them, but they also need a few things sorting out before they can really improve their lot. But firstly, let’s see about the good things.

Spyker have continued with Christijan Albers – a Dutch driver – who raced for Midland last year and knows his way around a Formula One car. While results didn’t happen for Albers last year, he certainly put in some sterling performances and wrestled his car around the circuits well. Having the Toyota engine in the back of his car certainly helped, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for Christijan. Although Albers recently admitted that he is “running out of time to win the title”, the 27 year old is still hungry.

Partnering Christijan will be rookie driver Adrian Sutil. Adrian managed to get his maiden F1 drive after beating competition from the likes of previous driver Tiago Monteiro, and he intends to make full use of this opportunity. Adrian has raised a few eyebrows in the paddock recently, and Nico Rosberg has spoken of his admiration for the young German driver. Sutil is on a long term contract, and Spyker is hoping that their new young charger will stick around, and he will do well to become a man to revolve the team around. But that is only if Spyker stay around for long enough.

The Dutch team will also ditch Toyota power this year in favour of Ferrari, who signed a contract to supply the team in Shanghai last year. The news is positive and should aid the teams reliability.

Also on the Spyker books is experienced technology officer, Mike Gascoyne. Gascoyne joined the team after being dumped by Toyota last season and his presence in the team will be positive and productive – Gascoyne knows how to turn teams around and will not waste a second.

So it seems that Spyker have everything going for them. The team have new sponsors, and a fair amount of them it seems. Their new car is built and has been running reasonably well in testing. They have a balanced driver line up and some good key personnel working in the background. A sure bet?

If only it were that simple. While the Spyker car has been racking up the mileage at Silverstone and in Spain, the team haven’t been able to match Williams pace (the only team to have really run with them) and as with last year, it just seems that the car is lacking in the aero/grip department. What’s more, their nearest rival in 2006 – Super Aguri – are looking at making a large step forward this year. Although Aguri are still to launch their new car, if it is allowed to run, it could well mean that Spyker are left at the back with no one to play with.

It is a great shame to see the Jordan team go from one owner to another, almost devaluing the once great team that came so very close to winning a title. But I hope Spyker stick around with the squad to see it through. With perseverance, winning is possible – the teams own history is proof of that.

However, I don’t believe it will happen this year, so I imagine that 2007 will be another uneventful year for Spyker, whose only competition will surely come from hastily-remodelled-due-to-legality-issues Super Aguri or a poorly setup Red Bull or Toro Rosso.

2007 Constructors Prediction: 11th

Original article by BlogF1.

F1 2007: Spyker