Force India had a disappointing run at the British GP in Silverstone. Both Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil missed having point winning finishes, let alone a podium finish. While Adrian finished P11, Paul managed to finish at P15.
Driving the VJMO4/04, Adrian said that following a great start to the race, it was disappointing to finish without points. While his start was fine, things began to look up during the first couple of laps. However, the conditions proved tricky with many damp areas in second sector. He was still confident that he would be able to have a points finish. He thought that their strategy of stopping three times was good, however, by the end; he didn’t think they had the pace for receiving points.
Di Resta, in fact, driving the VJM04/02, had 6th place pole position, however he could not change into points. Di Resta said that it was quite disappointing for him to end his first ever British GP in P15. The first part of the race was good for him, as they seemed quite competitive, with him being able to be near Jenson Button as he focused on looking at his intermediate tyres.
He also that their dry tyre switch happened at the perfect moment and they were racing well. He then said he received a call for heading to the pit, but when he got there he found out, that his team was not expecting him but Adrian, so obviously there was some confusion. This cost him time, as the team had to head back to garage and get his tyres, losing around 25 seconds that had definitely ended his chances. As a result, it was a frustrating race, but they should be positive ahead, as their car performed well during this weekend, giving him the confidence needed, when heading into this season’s second part.
The team principal, and chairman of Force India, Dr. Vijay Mallya, said that it was simply not their day. In spite of the promise they showed earlier on, the events at this race sacrificed their strategies, making it difficult for them to get points. Things looked good in the beginning, with both Adrian and Paul racing strongly in points, and their car performing well. However, things took a turn for the worse, after the error at the pit stop. They had called Paul for his second stop; however Adrian reported a puncture at the same time. They tried to have Paul staying out, so that they could service Adrian’s car, however it was already late, and the pit lane was already occupied with Paul arriving. This led to confusion with the tyres for Paul being ready that cost a lot of time. While Adrian drove well, he lost to 2 stoppers during the closing few laps. It is clear that they need regrouping, so as to have a stronger comeback in Germany for converting their car’s pace into points.
