ForceIndia
There are 18 Grands Prix on this year’s F1’s World Championship calendar and they all count for the same amount of points, but one race stands above all the others in terms of pure spectacle, glamour and prestige: the Monaco Grand Prix.
Racing is, however, what it’s all about come Sunday afternoon, and the challenges of the twisty, bumpy 3.34km track are unique in the F1 world. Run through the hallowed streets of Monte Carlo in the south of France, the track cuts through the famed Casino Square, down via a sequence of turns and hairpins into the tunnel and then skirts round the harbour jampacked with yachts, rounds the Rascasse before roaring down one of Monaco’s main streetsand uphill back towards the casino.
Both Force India drivers have strong experience of the challenges of the circuit and have enjoyed good performances there throughout their careers. Adrian Sutil has held the F3 lap record round the Principality, a feat he achieved in 2005 when he was team-mate to McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, and was a spectacular fastest during last year’s Saturday free practice.
Giancarlo Fisichella has meanwhile competed in every Monaco Grand Prix since 1996 and will celebrate his 200th race start at this event. The Italian has finished on the podium twice in 1998 and 2000 and last year came home in a morale-boosting 4th position.
Dr. Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director
We intend to put on a good show in Monaco, both from a sporting and commercial aspect. Monaco is a race that is so famous world-wide that almost everybody knows it and wants to come to it, so it is not only important from a team point of view, but from a sponsors’ point of view as well.
I think glamour and sport go together and I think the glamour and the entertainment that we have emphasised since we have been in F1 is much appreciated. If we have, in turn, contributed in any way to the glamorous aspect of F1, then I think we’ve done a good job. It promotes the team, it promotes the sponsors of the team, I think it promotes F1 in general. We intend to persist!
As important as the glamour and panache is in Monaco, the greatest show there is is the race and we are on stage and have to perform. This track should suit us better than Istanbul, but having acknowledged that, the objective of the team is to get up to a level where we can race competitively on any circuit.
Turkey might have seemed disappointing from the outside, but I did not leave the track feeling down at heart. We were certainly no further back from the opposition than we have been in previous races and, in fact compared to the fastest time of the weekend, we were the closest we have been all year. Our position is now just a measure of how competitive F1 is this year. There are no inefficient teams: you just have 10 professional teams, and we are undoubtedly the smallest, newest kid on the block.
I am sure however that Monaco will be a different story. It’s a real driver’s track and I have every confidence in both my drivers here - just look at their track records. Giancarlo - who reaches a great career milestone this weekend - has achieved some fantastic results here against expectations, while Adrian posted the fastest time in practice on Saturday morning last year. That tells a story of its own.
Colin Kolles, team principal
After a disappointing Turkish Grand Prix we should be in a position to be more competitive in Monaco and have both cars reaching the finish line. For Adrian and Giancarlo it’s one of their favourite circuits and I am expecting a good result.
