The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Force India looks for consistency

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Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008
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Sport - Racing : Motor

Force India looks for consistency

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Barcelona: He was once a promising pianist but now he produces sound that forces you to reach out for ear-plugs. But on the Formula One circuit, the sound of roaring engines and tyres on asphalt is music to speed buffs and Adrian Sutil, Force India’s young driver, loves this kind of music.

The 25-year old German struck a realistic note when he told the Indian media contingent that staying consistent would be the primary aim of his team.

“Finishing in the top 15 would be a good achievement. May be we can think in terms of the podium in 2010 or 2011. We need to get points. And with chairman Vijay Mallya coming in, everything is working better,” Sutil said at the Circuit De Catalunya here during the final phase of testing on Tuesday.

On the new VJM01 that is being tested, Sutil said that the car had better grip and was moving in the right direction. “A new launch doesn’t give us much time before the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne but then the chassis is the same — Ferrari’s. The new car has better grip, more stability and we hope to push it further,” Sutil said.

However Sutil and his senior partner Giancarlo Fisichella did admit there was a problem of under-steer in cornering but Force India’s technical head Mike Gascoyne said that it could be sorted out. “In these wintry conditions here, there are many variables that can lead to under-steer but we are working on it and we can sort it out,” he said.

Priorities

Fisichella said, “Force India is a good team and Adrian is a good driver though we haven’t tested simultaneously yet. But we will do that tomorrow. We need to get points consistently and may be two years from now we could think about a podium finish but it is still early to talk.”

Force India principal Dr. Colin Kolles minced no words when he backed the choice of Fisichella over Narain Karthikeyan and about Super Aguri’s arbitration process. “We already had Adrian Sutil on board because of his three-year contract with the previous Spyker team and we had only one opening. We need points and it is not about being Indian or not. The experience of Fisichella would come in handy with the present rule change that doesn’t allow traction control. I want this thing about Super Aguri to be finished. They don’t deserve to be here as constructors,” Dr. Kolles said.

He added that the team was testing the aerodynamic parameters and a few changes would be made to the car ahead of the Australian GP in March.

Meanwhile in Tuesday’s morning session, Fisichella was eighth with a best lap timing of 1:22.913 while test-driver Vitantonio Liuzzi was placed ninth.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton led the fray with a best timing of 1:21.234.

Sutil will test on Wednesday.

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