INDIA in F1

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  • Max Chilton begins Young Driver testing for the Force!

    Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test, Day 1: Max Chilton gets behind the wheel
    Abu Dhabi: 15 Nov 2011: (Courtesy: Sahara Force India) Sahara Force India was back in action on Tuesday to kick off the first of three days of young driver testing at the Yas Marina circuit. On driving duty was 20-year-old Briton, Max Chilton, who completed a total of 81 laps in the VJM04, setting a best time of 1:43.016, the sixth fastest of the day.
    The focus of the day was acclimatisation work for Max who was driving the car for the first time on a Grand Prix circuit. The 2012 Pirelli development tyres were also used for a number of runs, while the team focussed on general data collection having added additional sensors to the car.
    Tomorrow, Johnny Cecotto Jr will get his first experience of a Formula One car before Max takes over for the final day of running on Thursday.
    Max Chilton: “I had been looking forward to this moment all my life and it definitely exceeded my expectations. The performance of the car is just amazing, especially the downforce and traction, which are mind-blowing. The design of these cars is incredible and it’s left me wanting much more. It’s scary how quick you can go through the high-speed corners, but the car is really well balanced and it feels very calm. The morning session flew by really quickly while I was getting used to the car and the systems, but in the afternoon things settled down and we managed to do some good testing. Working with such a big crew was also a new experience for me and it makes life so easy because there’s a person for every job and you can change things really quickly. I want to say thanks to the guys for a great day and I can’t wait to jump back in the car on Thursday.”
    Oliver Knighton, Race Support and Strategy Engineer
    “A positive first day of testing and I’m very pleased with the way Max integrated himself with the team. There were no mistakes, he was very consistent and he quickly got the hang of the control systems. The morning was spent acclimatising Max to the car and we also ran several test sensors to gather some more data with a view to Brazil next week and for 2012. In the afternoon we ran through a 2012 tyre programme, which has given us some interesting information for the rest of the week. We had a KERS issue in the afternoon, which took the edge off Max’s final lap time, but it was still a very good day.”

  • Force India gets six points to stay sixth

    Round 18 of 2011 Formula 1 World Championship at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, 13 Nov 2011:

    (By Special Correspondent)

    P8 Adrian Sutil, VJM04/04
    Tyre strategy: Used soft, new soft, new medium
     P9 Paul Di Resta, VJM04/02
    Tyre strategy: New medium, new soft

    It was a great race for Sahara Force India with Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta finishing eighth and ninth respectively even as Lewis Hamilton of McLaren provided an early birthday present to his mom with a brilliant win at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday. Hamilton got his third win of the season and seventh podium in the Formula One World Championship, this season as 2011 drivers’ champion and favourite Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull retired early with a puncture  as “he caught the exit kerb wrong with low tyre pressure that cut his right rear tyre”.

    As far as the teams and drivers are concerned, the only Indian presence on the race day for the 18th round of the 19-round F1 season was the Sahara Force India team. With both the Indian drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok not on the starting grid, it was left to Force India to fight for honours and with a great startegy both the cars finished in points gaining valuable points to keep themselves in the sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

    Adrian Sutil, who started on 8th place was on soft tyres, which are a second faster per lap than the Dry tyres of Paul d’ Resta. As he did not start the Qualifier 3 on Saturday, Paul had the option to use either of the tyres and the team went with a single-stop strategy to come out successfully.

    In the 9th lap, even as Sutil was pushing Michael Schumaker, Paul di Resta was pressurised by Sebestian Buemi, who took eighth place but Di Resta regained the lost ground quickly in the next DRS zone and soon in the 14th lap Buemi once again used the first DRS zone to pass Paul, who however made it a short-lived joy for the Toro Rosso in the second DRS zone, but in the very next lap Paul made a mistake in Turn 11 but that did not prove costly as Buemi retired soon due to a loss of fluid from the hydraulic system. Paul di Resta went on till 28th lap for his first pit stop and his sustained run despite traction problems saw his finish in the 9th place for two valuable points with his single pit-stop strategy on medium dry tryes.

    Adrian Sutil, could not challenge Schumacher any further after the initial jaunt and was content in retaining his position after two pits to go steady for a well-deserved four points. Adrian: “Today’s result is great for the team and just what we needed. Initially we were planning to do a one-stop race, but the team took the decision to switch to a two-stop strategy because the soft tyre did not last as long as we thought it would. So it was a good call by the team to make the change. I spent a lot of the race fighting with Schumacher and managed to get ahead of him for the middle stint. But I probably went one lap too long in the middle stint and he got ahead of me when we were both on the medium tyre at the end of the race. I was close behind him, but we had similar pace and I couldn’t get back ahead. Still, we came here to pick up points with both cars, and that’s what we’ve done. It puts us in a very strong position for the final race.”

    With only the Brazil Grand Prix left in the season, Sahara Force India – Mercedes are well on course for the sixth position in the Constructors Championship with 57 points 15 points ahead of Sauber Ferrari on 42 who just managed to pip STR Ferrari by a point after Abu Dhabi. Adrian Sutil (10/11th) has 34 points, the same as fellow German Nick Hiedfeld while the young British driver Paul Di Resta has 23 points in the 14th place.

    Paul: “I think as a team we can be pleased to have come away with a double points finish having run different strategies with both cars. With hindsight my one-stop race was not the optimum strategy, but we felt it was worth a try. As it turned out the performance of the medium was not great to begin with so the first 30 laps were quite hard work. I had a good fight with Buemi in the early laps and I think we were quite lucky that he retired, which made my race a bit easier. When I switched to the softs the speed of the car was very strong. To do a one-stop race and come away with two points is as much as we could really hope for. It’s what we need for our fight in the championship and hopefully we can arrive in Brazil and carry on where we left off.”
     
    Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director
    “We came here determined to deliver a strong result and we’ve come away with six important points to consolidate our sixth place in the constructors’ championship. Both drivers drove faultless races, splitting the strategies and covering all the options. So I’m very pleased with our performance as a team, which puts us in a much stronger position with 15 points advantage over our nearest competitor. I feel confident that we can go to Brazil to finish the job and confirm our sixth place in the championship.”

  • Force India qualify in P9 and P10 and hope to get into points

    Force India car Sat Abu Dhabi qualifiersAbu Dhabi: (Force India Release) 12 Nov 2011: Sahara Force India delivered on the promise shown in practice as Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta qualified in ninth and tenth places respectively for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For the record, Sebastian Vettel once again proved a tough nut to crack and took the pole position and also equalled a record for pole positions.
     P9  Adrian Sutil (VJM04/04)
    Q1: 1:40.595
    Q2: 1:40.205
    Q3: 1:40.768
     Adrian: “I’m happy with ninth place today and it was a good session for me. In Q3 we waited a bit longer than planned because we wanted to wait and see what Mercedes did. In the end they decided to go out so I also went out and I did a timed lap. The lap was a little bit compromised because I didn’t get the tyres fully up to temperature, so maybe I could have been a bit higher up. Still, I don’t think we can complain too much because P9 is a fair reflection of our pace at the moment.”
     P10 Paul Di Resta (VJM04/02)
    Q1: 1:41.604
    Q2: 1:40.414
    Q3: No time
     Paul: “Getting two cars in the top ten was the objective today and that’s what we achieved. We made some good progress this morning perfecting the set-up and I was happy with the car in qualifying. Q1 and Q2 went well and we got the job done by getting in the top ten. Our approach to Q3 was to give us the optimum strategy for tomorrow. For the race we are definitely hoping for points because our focus is to maintain our sixth place in the championship. I’m really looking forward to this race because the place looks spectacular at night. It’s also nice to drive in twilight conditions when it’s a bit cooler.”
     Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director
    “I’m very pleased with our performance today and with both Sahara Force India cars starting from the fifth row of the grid we are in good shape for tomorrow. It will be an interesting race because we have seen that the tyre degradation here is not that severe, which means we need to think long and hard about how we will use the strategy. With just two races to go we are not underestimating how important it is to score points here to strengthen our grasp on sixth place in the constructors’ championship. I believe we have the speed to do so, but as I’ve said before you never know until it’s in the bag.” 
    Meanwhile, The Sauber F1 Team drivers, Sergio Pérez and Kamui Kobayashi, have qualified 11th and 16th  respectively for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship. Both drivers did their fastest lap times in Q2 on a set of soft tyres they had used before in Q1. When they put on fresh soft tyres in Q2, both drivers struggled to get them to work and therefore neither of them was able to improve, added a Sauber Press Release.

  • Johnny Cecotto Junior completes Abu Dhabi F1 test line-up for Force India

    Johnny Cecotto Junior will test for Sahara Force India at the upcoming young driver test in Abu Dhabi next week, completing the team’s line-up alongside Max Chilton.
    The 22-year-old Venezuelan will get behind the wheel of the VJM04 on Wednesday 16 November for a full day of work with the team. The test will be Johnny’s debut in a Formula 1 car.
    Johnny Cecotto Jr: “I think all drivers want to race in Formula 1 so the chance to get time in the Sahara Force India F1 car is a big moment for me. In fact, I can’t stop smiling at the thought of driving such an amazing car. I know there’s a massive amount to learn and a lot of work to get through on the day, but I definitely feel ready to get behind the wheel. I hope I can do a good job and repay the faith the team have shown by giving me a chance in the car.”     (Sahara Force India Release)

  • Laureus chairman and visionary Ed Moses to be honored by UNESCO

     

    Ed Moses


    •    ‘We are overjoyed to honour Edwin Moses for his outstanding social achievements’ – says UNESCO Special Ambassador Dr Ute-Henriette Ohoven
    •    Edwin Moses says: ‘This is a great moment for me…this is not just a personal honour, but an acknowledgement of the work ofLaureus since its creation’
    •    Also to be honoured is former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev

    LONDON, November 11, 2011 – Dr Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, is to be honoured by UNESCO for his work with socially disadvantaged young people and as a global advocate for fair and doping-free sport, at a 20th anniversary charity gala in Dusseldorf, Germany on November 19.


    UNESCO Special Ambassador Dr Ute-Henriette Ohoven said: “We are overjoyed to have such an impressive personality as Dr. Edwin Moses at our gala and to honour him for his outstanding social achievements. He has not only written sports history, he is also a man of vision and has his heart in the right place.” Thomas Goesmann, Managing Director of the Foundation for UNESCO, added: “Dr Moses is an example for all of us.”

    More than 1.400 guests from culture, politics, business, sport and entertainment will be present in Dusseldorf to salute Dr Moses. The commendation will be read by Academy Award Winner and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker.

    Edwin Moses said: “This is a great moment for me. The work of UNESCO and Laureusboth focuses on helping young people around the world, there is an immense amount of synergy between the two organisations. I regard this not just as a personal honour for me, but as an acknowledgement and tribute to the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation since its creation more than ten years ago.”

    As a double Olympic gold medal winner at 400 metres hurdles, he was a prodigious competitor – at one point in his career going nine years, nine months and nine days without being beaten. He became the first Chairman of Laureus in 2000, a position which he has retained ever since.

    The UNESCO tribute says: “An Olympic champion, sports administrator, diplomat and businessman, he is one of the most respected and recognised athletes of our time.  He has resolutely served and promoted the Olympic movement and fostered the development of drug-free sports and the rights of amateur athletes at all levels.  His experience as a distinguished Olympic champion and world record holder has earned him the esteem of the international sports community.”

    Also to be honoured is Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, whose commendation will be presented by former German Federal Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.

    Other high-profile UNESCO supporters present will be Hollywood stars Kathleen Turner, Vin Diesel, Jet Li and Olivier Martinez, top models Jerry Hall and Naomi Campbell, classical singer Katherine Jenkins and pop stars Melanie C and Gianna Nannini.

    Edwin Moses is Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy whose members volunteer their time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The mission of the Laureus Foundation is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems such as obesity.

    Since its inception La ureus has raised over €40 million to support projects which have helped to improve the lives of over one-and-a-half million young people.

    With more than 400 projects in 97 countries, the UNESCO programme for the Education of Children in Need creates already since 1992 structures which help children, adolescents and their families to create a better future. (Courtesy: Laureus)

  • Mark Webber on Desert Safari ahead of Abu Dhabi GP

    Abu Dhabi: (Red Bull Content Pool): Ahead of the forthcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mark Webber started the weekend in true local style by going on a desert safari in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
    After getting some driving tips from an instructor in a Nissan 4×4, the Australian had a go himself and tried driving over some desert sand dunes.

    The drive finished at a desert camp with traditional tents, where Mark enjoyed some local tea, had a camel ride and held a falcon.

  • Sauber drivers Kobayashi and Perez…

    Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Practice – Friday, 11.11.2011
    Weather: dry, 28-26°C air, 41-28°C track
    At the end of the first day of practice ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the Sauber F1 Team drivers, Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez, were 10th and 11th respectively on the time sheet. Kobayashi lost a lot of track time in the first free practice session due to a gearbox problem, which was fixed without a new gear box being needed. In the second session both drivers not only ran the Pirelli soft and medium tyre compounds, but also two sets of test tyres each. The second free practice session on the Yas Marina Circuit took place at the same time as the race will be run on Sunday – starting at 5pm in daylight and finishing after sunset with a full moon contributing to the great atmosphere.
    Kamui Kobayashi:
    Sauber C30-Ferrari (Chassis 01 / Ferrari 056)
    1st Practice: 17th / 1:44.484 min (18 laps) / 2nd Practice: 10th / 1:41.490 min (34 laps)
    “It is quite difficult to compare the two practice sessions, as the difference in track temperature is over ten degrees Celsius. This also means that in tomorrow’s third free practice session we can’t learn much for qualifying because again we will have this difference in track temperature. However, in general the track was quite slippery. We are pretty much okay at high speed, but we need to improve in slow corners and in terms of braking stability.”
    Sergio Pérez:
    Sauber C30-Ferrari (Chassis 03 / Ferrari 056)
    1st Practice: 16th / 1:44.412 min (28 laps) / 2nd Practice: 11th / 1:41.565 min (34 laps)
    “I’m confident for the weekend. We had a good day and completed our programme. Nevertheless it is difficult to know where we stand as we don’t know what the others were doing today. We learnt a lot and we will now continue to work on our qualifying performance for tomorrow. Then we will also try to improve the car’s balance for the long runs.”
    Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:
    “It was more or less a normal Friday. However, it was not ideal to lose 50 minutes due to a gearbox problem on Kamui’s car in the first session. Apart from that everything went okay. We put some extra focus on the single lap performance. Now we have to analyse all the data, discuss it with the drivers and make the right decisions for the remainder of the weekend. It will definitely be a tight battle for positions.”

  • 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Sahara Force India Free Practice Report – Nov11

    Force India Press Release on Friday
    Free practice objectives: 
    FP1: Co-ordinated aero tests on both cars, wing level evaluation
    FP2: Tyre data collection and continued race set-up
     Adrian Sutil (VJM04/04)
    FP1: P7 1.41.340 23 laps
    FP2: P8 1:40.951 34 laps  
     Adrian: “The track had very low grip to begin with, but we found quite a good baseline starting point with the car right away. The main focus was on improving the traction out of the low-speed corners because that’s what this circuit is all about. We also worked a lot on finding the optimum wing levels and seem to have found a good solution so far. As for the tyres, we did most of the work in the second session to simulate the conditions we will get on Sunday evening. Both tyres seem to be performing well with quite low degradation.”
     Paul Di Resta (VJM04/02)
    FP1: P9 1:42.151 28 laps
    FP2: P9 1:41.021 37 laps 
     Paul: “I think looking at where we’ve ended up we should be pretty happy with today’s work. In the first session I was struggling with rear grip and it wasn’t easy to lean on the car. There was also quite a lot of front locking. But in the second session we started to get on top of those issues and got quite close to a decent set-up. I think we can still make some steps tomorrow and look to find more low-speed stability, but overall we’re not in bad shape.”
     Dominic Harlow, Circuit Engineering Director
    “We carried out some co-ordinated aero tests on both cars during FP1 and of course looked at wing level for the race. There was also some set-up work as usual. FP2 was more about the tyres and race set-up as the temperature and track conditions reflect more closely the twilight timing of this race. Also available to us, and useful for our programmes, were two sets of a development soft tyre from Pirelli which looked positive.”

  • Emotional Vijay Mallya reflects on Historic Airtel Indian GP

    2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview
     
    Vijay’s vision
    Team Principal and Managing Director, Dr. Vijay Mallya, reflects on an emotional Indian Grand Prix and looks forward to the penultimate race of the year. (Text and pictures: Force India Release)
    The Indian Grand Prix weekend was obviously a huge one for you personally. How would you sum it up?
    It was outstanding. It was emotional and there was a great sense of pride. It was a dream come true. When Force India became the first and only Indian team on the grid in 2008, it was a great moment for me too, but even at that time I really didn’t think that India would ever host a Grand Prix. It couldn’t be better, it was like the confluence of two dreams: owning an F1 team and racing on home turf. The icing on the cake was at least getting one car into the top ten and into the points.
    Were you impressed with the track itself?
    The drivers, and not just ours, have said that it is perhaps one of the best tracks in the world. It’s got all the infrastructure and facilities you need. People may complain that the level of finish needs more attention, but that’s because they completed it in a bit of a hurry. But otherwise the basics are there.
    And what about the team’s performance?
    Adrian did a superb job: he kept his head and drove really well. He made sure he didn’t give up ninth place. With Paul we knew exactly what we were doing, starting on the hard tyre and bringing him in early. Had there been a safety car, Paul’s eventual race result might have been vastly different. But we had to take the gamble – no guts, no glory, I guess! Overall I’m quite happy with our performance and I don’t think there’s any reason why we should not feel proud of what we have done.
    At this stage of the season points are precious in terms of the constructors’ championship…
    Formula One becomes more and more competitive with each passing day. Toro Rosso has clearly made a huge step since Japan. We’ve also made a bit of a step with the upgrades we brought to India. But at the end of the day you never know until the last race is over. We found that out painfully last year when Williams pipped us by one point, but now I think we’re comfortably in sixth position, ahead of Toro Rosso as well as Sauber. But it’s never done until it’s done.
    The other big news in India was the announcement of your One from a Billion winner. How satisfying is it to be promoting Indian talent?
    It is huge. Everybody has been quite critical of me, particularly in India, as to why I don’t have an Indian driver in the car. They’re trying to force comments out of me on the two Indian drivers that we currently have and I’m not going to fall into that trap. All I know is what’s good for my team and that’s what I’ve been doing. But I’ve often said that amongst 1.2 billion people there’s got to be a Lewis Hamilton somewhere. We found three exceptionally talented kids, all 14 or under.
    In India you indicated that you will make a decision on the drivers for 2012 sooner rather than later. Can you update us on that?
    All the drivers have asked me to make an early decision, and I respect that. I have a big decision to make! But it’s not made yet – I’m not the type of guy who’s going to make a decision and string people along. When I decide I will just tell them the way it is and that’s it.
    Any thoughts on the rest of the season?
    Only two races to go! We hope to do well in Abu Dhabi, particularly because we think the car is suited to the track. Let’s see.
    Adrian on Abu Dhabi
    Adrian Sutil savours his points finish in Delhi and gets set for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
    Adrian, how satisfying was it to get some points in Sahara Force India’s home race?
    It felt really good and I think that was the maximum for us. I just lost out to the Toro Rossos because they were faster on the day. But I was happier with the balance than in Korea, so it’s clear that we made a little step with the car. Ninth position was two very important points so it was a good weekend.
    It was a very busy week for you and the whole team – did you enjoy having all that attention?
    It was very nice in the drivers’ parade, I could see all the people in the stands and they were really cheering for us a lot. It was a very special crowd, very unique. I haven’t seen so many fans for us at any other circuit. It’s definitely something I will remember.
    What are your thoughts ahead of the Abu Dhabi race?
    It was a difficult race for us last year, but I think this year it should be much better. There are long straights and hairpins, and it’s a track where low-speed corner performance counts. That should suit our car so I think we’ll be okay.
    Paul on Abu Dhabi
    Paul Di Resta looks forward to his first race at Yas Marina.
     
    Paul, let’s look back on the Indian Grand Prix – a gamble on the strategy didn’t go your way, but a good result for the team…
    We always knew that we were going extremely aggressive with the strategy. It was a decision to cover our bases. We took this route based on the tyre data from Friday, but the conditions in the race turned out to be quite different. Sometimes it works for you and other times you have to take it on the chin. Other than that the speed in the race was strong. The big picture is our position in the constructors’ championship so it was important that Adrian picked up the points. We said all along that the fight for sixth place would go down to the wire and we need to continue delivering in the next two races.
     
    Abu Dhabi won’t be a totally new experience for you, but you’ve yet to race there…
    I did half a day at the young driver test and then a full day for the Pirelli tyre test last year. So I’ve learned the layout and have a feel for the place. Before we get there I’ll have another half day in the simulator to get back up to speed.
     
    What were your impressions of the track last year?
    It’s a very technical circuit with a lot of tight, low-speed corners and you need to be very precise with the car. There’s very little high-speed stuff, apart from the esses after turn one, but they are taken pretty much flat anyway. There are definitely some similarities with Singapore so that’s a reason to be optimistic because the lack of high-speed corners seems to suit our package. As ever, we have to see how the teams around us perform.

  • Grand Prix No.18 – Abu Dhabi

    The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 19-round FIA calendar of the 2011 F1 World Championship will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi.

    All times are local (Abu Dhabi is GMT +4)

    Thursday 10 November
    15:00: FIA press conference

    Friday 11 November
    13:00 – 14:30: First free practice
    17:00 – 18:30: Second free practice
    19:00: FIA press conference

    Saturday 12 November
    14:00 – 15:00: Third free practice
    17:00 – 18:00: Qualifying
    18h00: FIA post qualifying press conference

    Sunday 13 November
    17:00 – 19:00: Abu Dhabi GP
    19:00: FIA post race press conference

    Abu Dhabi GP Info
    No of Laps: 55
    Circuit length: 5.554 km
    Lap Record: 1:40.279
    2010 Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)