The Force India Formula One Team has finished a rain-drenched Italian Grand Prix with Adrian Sutil in 19th position. Giancarlo Fisichella started well after the
initial safety car period, battling with Raikkonen and Hamilton for 11th position, until a racing incident on lap 11 damaged his front wing. In the damp conditions Giancarlo slid into the gravel trap and into retirement.
The team will now focus its attention on the next event on the calendar, the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix night race, in two weeks’ time.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
‘For sure it was not the best race for us. At the start I just had no grip on the extreme wets and I couldn’t push. The second set of extremes was better than the first, but by then it was drying out so after 10 laps I lost even more grip and had some vibrations in the front. I came into the pits to change and we went over to the dry tyres. It was a little too early but we had to try it. It was pretty much a race to forget.’
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
‘I’m disappointed that after the good qualifying we couldn’t convert this into a better result in the race. The conditions at the start were very wet but I had a good battle with Raikkonen and Hamilton. Coulthard then overtook me in the first chicane and in the corner he was slow so I touched him. Unfortunately the tap damaged the front nose and it went under the car. On the back straight I couldn’t control the car and went off into the gravel.’
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
‘A disappointing race for us. Giancarlo had a good fight in the first few laps with the quicker cars behind him but unfortunately when Coulthard passed him he lost his front wing on the back straight. It was also a difficult race for Adrian. He had some tyre issues later in the race, so we took a gamble to put him on the slicks, which didn’t pay off. We had had a good performance here in practice and qualifying so it was a very disappointing end to the weekend.’
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director
‘Ultimately we would have liked to convert the strong qualifying into something more, but as with all other teams in the field, the tricky conditions were difficult to read and we could not move up. What we have learnt however is that we are competitive in full wet conditions, which could be very useful in the next race in Singapore, which we need to focus on now. I must also extend my congratulations to Toro Rosso and Sebastian Vettel for a marvellous first victory, and to our engine partner Ferrari for their first win with a customer engine. It is very satisfying to see an independent team winning and this is a source of inspiration for us.’
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