Last year they got their first points, first pole and first podium. Can Force India carry the momentum of their 2009 breakthrough into 2010?
Car design
Force India made a clear step forward in the second half of 2009 courtesy of a late aerodynamic update to the car. It thrust them to the front of the midfield and, at Spa, very nearly won them the race.
When the team revealed the VJM03 at Jerez this year they talked about how they hoped to translate the 02’s strengths on low-drag circuits like Spa to make it a better all-rounder.
The other key component in Force India’s breakthrough was their deal to use Mercedes power. They retain the engine and drivetrain in 2010, and it’s still believed to be one of the most powerful and usable in F1.
The team often looked quick in testing but didn’t seem to be doing very many long runs.
Driver line-up
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to look at Force India’s points tally for last year and conclude it might have been a bit higher had Adrian Sutil not had so many collisions with other drivers.
His uncompromising style in wheel-to-wheel battle is exciting but it usually costs him more than he gains from it – like at the Nurburgring and Interlagos last year. Now entering his fourth F1 season, at times he needs to show a little more restraint to match his speed.
Vitantonio Liuzzi made the jump from reserve driver to race driver last year and has held onto the position giving the team some useful continuity in the driver line-up which many rivals lack this year.
Though not as obvious as Button-Hamilton or Massa-Alonso, Force India’s driver pairing this year is a battle to relish. Each driver has something to prove and for both of them the best way to secure their long-term place in the sport would be to emphatically out-do the other this year.
What’s more, the team’s new reserve driver Paul di Resta is poised for promotion at a moment’s notice. He’ll be driving one of the cars in Friday first practice at most race weekends this year.
Strengths
Force India are on a clear upwards trajectory and are benefiting from stability they sorely lacked from 2005-2008 as they passed from owner to owner.
The days of looking for Force India at the back of the grid are over and the arrival of several new, slower teams should keep them at the leading edge of the midfield.
Weaknesses
Several important staff members have left since the end of last year. McLaren’s Simon Roberts, who oversaw the integration of the Mercedes running gear last year, has returned to Woking.
More recently technical director James Key has announced an imminent move to Sauber. Key led the aerodynamic development of last year’s car and his loss is clearly a setback for the team. Long-standing business director Ian Phillips has waved farewell after almost two decades with the Silverstone-based outfit.
There will be more pressure on their drivers without the experience of Giancarlo Fisichella to fall back on.
Poll: championship position
Force India placed ninth out of ten teams last year thanks to their late points surge. How will they fare in 2010?
Where will Force India finish in the 2010 Constructors' Championship?
- 13th (1%)
- 12th (0%)
- 11th (1%)
- 10th (2%)
- 9th (7%)
- 8th (21%)
- 7th (27%)
- 6th (24%)
- 5th (13%)
- 4th (2%)
- 3rd (0%)
- 2nd (0%)
- 1st (1%)
Total Voters: 1,307
See all the articles in the F1 Fanatic 2010 Season Preview
2010 F1 season
Images (C) Force India F1 Team
U2
7th March 2010, 15:52
5th will be more like it .. would love to see both drivers get points in each of the races
MigueLP
7th March 2010, 17:54
aparth from the low downforce problem
clearly their problem was the driver line-up having a line-up composed by 2 “sponsor” drivers isnt ideal
MigueLP
7th March 2010, 17:55
we all saw fisichella difficulties on the F60 a difficult car to drive though
Monad
8th March 2010, 6:57
I have a feeling that if there was a Hamilton driving that car it would have been a lot faster. Sutil couldn’t dominate old Fisi that we all saw he is a lot slower than top driver status and Luizi never made anything impressive.
There drivers are there weakness.
I’m still wondering why didn’t they try to get Heidfeld. His definitely faster than anything they got.
steph
7th March 2010, 16:00
I’m really not sure where they will be. Neither driver inspires me much and I think Sutil should have shown more promise to be able to have moved up to a better team. He has the speed but too many mistakes. This is probably Liuzzi’s last chance too.
The points changes will benefit them and they obviously improved a lot last year but I’m still not convinced of how solid or consistent they will be across a variety of different tracks.
Enigma
7th March 2010, 16:09
What kind of tracks suit Force India? We saw Belgium and Italy last year, but what about Bahrain and Canada?
Prisoner Monkeys
7th March 2010, 21:50
Impossible to say since they’ve developed a new car for this season.
sato113
7th March 2010, 16:15
keith are you going to combine all the poll results in a graph at the end? would be cool.
Enigma
7th March 2010, 16:17
He said that he will combine the poll results at the end.
George
7th March 2010, 17:09
Pretty sure I’ve voted for some positions twice by mistake :D
Enigma
7th March 2010, 17:24
:) I’ve voted different every time.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th March 2010, 18:09
Yep that’s the plan.
Ned Flanders
7th March 2010, 16:21
Let’s not get too excited about Force India- remember the team has only had 3 points finishes since mid 2004 (excluding the 2005 US GP for obvious reasons). They are definitely improving but more often than not they were at the back in 2009. They’re talking about finishing 5th this season which I think is way too ambitious.
Also, I wonder how much money there is behind the team. They may have sponsors but most seem to be owned by Vijay Mallya. Take these sponsors away, and the car would look about as blank as a Sauber or Hispania
Rahim
7th March 2010, 16:35
I think the highest what they can achieve is 7th place…
And as far as the money is concerned…..i dont think they will have any major problem…Vijay mallya is a guy who will only get into something he’s really serious about….
But main thing is to see if he can Take atleast a podium this year
sumedh
7th March 2010, 17:22
Vijay Mallaya is a smart businessman. His style might remind many of Flavio Briatore.
His Indian Premier League team “Bangalore Royal Challengers” transformed from finishing second to last in the first edition to 2nd in the second edition of the tournament. I think it also had the second highest amount of profits among all the eight teams.
IMO, they can finish 6th or 7th (5th should be Williams). Sauber should be the other team fighting them for it. As an Indian, I have put 6th.
One-lap pace in the car is definitely there as shown by the “mock Q2” we had on the morning of the final day test at Jerez.
Liuzzi vs Sutil should be exciting to watch no doubt.
indy Heer
7th March 2010, 18:06
yeah but he is a multi billionaire!!!! he is passionate with f1 and you have to remember that micheal mol still owns 50% of the team. financially force india are comfortable… 5th place this season!!!
car thick
7th March 2010, 21:27
HAHAHA here comes the financial advicer of VJ….ned for your info VJ is a liquor baron. He sells liquor in INDIA. think of the business he gets, he also owns airlines..he can own 2 more f1 teams …So dont worry about his finance he knows very well about his finance..
Forceindia developed their car only last year. TO see the timingsheets of barcelona I beleive they can finish in 5th…
Ned Flanders
8th March 2010, 0:07
Yeah he has money but he ain’t gonna go wasting his fortune on the team. I’m not suggesting they’re about to go out of business, I’m just saying they don’t have many (or any?) outside sponsors.
To everyone who thinks they’re going to finish 5th, I think you’re all a bit deluded. One swallow doesn’t make a summer
Rahim
7th March 2010, 16:25
Yea would be interesting to see….
I think Force India can achieve a lot more….they can traditionally turn into a Midfield runners
Electrolite
7th March 2010, 16:42
Keith,
a bit higher had Adrian Sutil collisions with other drivers.
> a bit higher hadn’t Adrian Sutil collided with other drivers?
Cheers
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th March 2010, 18:09
Sorry – fixed it!
Red Andy
7th March 2010, 16:54
I think seventh place is a realistic expectation for Force India, provided they can develop at a reasonable pace. If Sutil stops making his errors they could be higher than that, but frankly I don’t expect much on that front. I would anticipate Liuzzi firmly establishing himself as the better Force India driver in 2010, to partner Paul di Resta at the team in 2011.
Scribe
7th March 2010, 17:04
Weal, from testing both drivers did seem genuinley excited about the cars, an it seems they’ve suceeded in keeping the car very low drag, they’ve been exceedingly quick through the speed traps, so it should still excell at the low drag circuits, also last years car was pretty damn good by the end, don’t forget that 2nd row qualifiying in Brazil, not the lowest downforce circuit ever.
So I don’t think they’ll manage 5th, Williams looks faster, an we’ll probably still be a more complete package, they could well be in the mix for best of the rest though. Sauber will be their big rival for me, but I feel these two are the cars we have the least idea about, so I voted 6th purley because Force India still has that underdog soft spot for me, doubtless that’ll be lost if they start visiting the podium.
George
7th March 2010, 17:16
Brazil qualifying was very topsy turvy with the rain though, and we know Sutil is a good wet weather driver (until he crashes).
Scribe
7th March 2010, 23:39
I completly forgot about that, an I watched all of it. Ah well.
Speedy Gonzalezzzz
7th March 2010, 17:15
7th place is my vote!
sijs
7th March 2010, 17:19
Having finished the previous season second last, a 5th place finish would would be a huge achievement for a team of their size. They were one of the very few teams that stuck to their development program throughout the season. If they could keep doing that this season too, then they have a realistic chance of finishing 5th. I see no reason for Mallya to abandon F1, as most suspect. After two years he has a car thats real, why would he abandon. I am sure he’ll look to keep the momentum going atleast until the 2011 Indian GP wherein he has a point to prove. As for the drivers Adrian will be looking for a solid season to help himself to a works team and Tonio has his last chance. And what more Paul too fighting for the helm, so they should be pushing each other like crazy.
JUGNU
7th March 2010, 18:11
I think part of Force India’s success last year was because other teams around them stopped developing there cars.
BMW, Toyota already knew, accept or deny that they won’t be in F1 next year. Williams said there new car is almost 100% new design and concept so they wisely discontinued 2009’s development much earlier. Same case with Ferrari and not much different is torro Rosso’s situation, which had to even make their own chasis this time so must be concentrating on it for a long time. Only Mclaren, Redbull and Brawn were developing till the end of seasonb and we have seen how fast these teams were than Force india, almost a full second ahead in Abu Dhabi.
I think they will beat new teams and Torro rosso this year that’s why i voted them 8th.
Cyclops
7th March 2010, 18:46
8th in my opinion. Williams and Renault surely will out-develop and out-score them. I think they will also lose with Sauber (courtesy of Kobayashi and more experienced staff). So I guess it’s end of midfield for them along with Torro Rosso.
Fer no.65
7th March 2010, 18:55
I think their success depends more on their drivers than the car…
last year the car was reasonably good, but Sutil was very erratic and crashed more often than not…
I think Liuzzi will beat Sutil, just because he’s a bit smarter at the wheel and fairly consistent, while Sutil clearly isn’t. If Adrian settles down, we might see the Force India finish on points regularly!
Vikas
7th March 2010, 18:57
I think Kobayashi is a little over rated…give him a full season to prove his abilities…though i agree he is much better than trulli or glock
Calum
7th March 2010, 19:04
Votes by me (so far)!
1= Ferrari
2= Mclaren
3= RBR
4= Mercedes GP
5= Williams
6= Renault
7= Force India
I think STR will finish last of the “old teams”
I have no idea how I will vote for the new teams. Maybe BMW will finish before STR,
Florida Mike
7th March 2010, 20:54
I do put Force India in 5th. I’m just not sold on the Cosworth engine. STR’s success (or lack of) with the Ferrari “customer” engine did not impress, so I don’t expect Sauber will be different. And while Renault have the same engine as RBR, their inability to capitalize with Alonso make me sceptical they’ll do better with Kubica. My predition, FI-5, Renault-6, Sauber-7, Williams-8
Ylan Marcel
7th March 2010, 21:27
This can be the biggest surprise of 2010 season, with Adrian Sutil!
statix
7th March 2010, 22:04
how? crashing regularly? :)
i recon sutil like piquet: mr crash
Scribe
7th March 2010, 23:42
Remember that Sauber driver Massa? My god he was all over the place.
Patrickl
8th March 2010, 0:55
He still often flies off or hits other cars though.
SD
8th March 2010, 6:49
as far as i remember,
sutil was 3rd in monaco 2008 when kimi crashed into him. Hamilton crashed into him once in 2008 season.
c’mon, give this guy a break; u cant blame him for pushing hard.
statix
8th March 2010, 12:57
it is very hard to distinguish: does he push hard or does not control the car. He crashed a lot but i wish him all the best anyway.
TommyC
7th March 2010, 21:32
so has the 3rd driver rule changed for this year? that is, they can drive on fridays. the last few years there were only the race drivers right? and does that mean the teams now take 3 cars to a race weekend?
Prisoner Monkeys
7th March 2010, 21:51
Nope, I’m pretty sure that while third drivers can have a go on Fridays, the teams may still only run two cars.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
8th March 2010, 0:18
Yeah that’s right.
Fer no.65
8th March 2010, 1:10
3rd drivers were allowed to drive on fridays since the 3rd car on fridays rule was forbidden
but only BMW used it once or twice. It was because it was pointless not to give the main drivers the needed track time… why run a 3rd driver on fridays instead of one of the main ones?
frederik
7th March 2010, 22:17
think force india will have quite a decent and competitive car, that could be almost consistent in the points…
James
7th March 2010, 22:39
I’d agree with what you have to say about Sutil, altohugh I feel that Trulli was at fault in Interlagos.
Sutil is clearly a quick guy, he just has a large amount of bad luck. Hopfully this year will turn things around. I’ll stick my neck out and say Force India will finish 6th this year, although 5th wont be beyond their reach by any means.
Andrew
8th March 2010, 0:48
Think Force India has the inside line on 5th currently. However, if Williams gets the most out of the Cossie, or it has great fuel economy, I think they will steal 5th away. Renault has a chance but keeping the commitment up as a team and getting good runs from Petrov will be the limiter on their success. Hope FI has developed a good downforce package, all the interviews I’ve seen have said it was a blazing fast car but had almost no grip. I can’t wait, one more week, even if I have to work all weekend and will have to record the qualifying and race instead of live. Baseball and F1 coming back, surest sign spring is coming fast.
Dennoow
8th March 2010, 0:55
I think they will be 8th. Beaten by the top 4 teams + Williams, Sauber and Toro Rosso.
Ninad
8th March 2010, 2:11
I think 7th looks more like it, but 5th will not be impossible.
Sankamesh
8th March 2010, 4:30
It was Sutil Vs Raikkonen, where most crashes occurred. So this time Sutil ll be happy without Raikk… Hope he doesn’t make another pair…
neel
8th March 2010, 5:35
i voted 4th. no one talked about 4th hmm ?? i don’t think mercedes or red-bull are quit up to the mark. the mercedes lacks speed due to weight distribution problems. while the red-bull i reckon will be more fragile due to the double fuel weight. so i think FI are just after the top four.
GeeMac
8th March 2010, 7:26
Force India’s 5th place aspirations will be hindered by Sutil and Liuzzi. The Sutil/Liuzzi combination just doesn’t seem strong enough. So in my book they will be competitive, and may well pull another Spa performance out of the bag, but they will ultimately end up behind Williams, Renault and Sauber and ahead of STR and the new boys.
Sirko
8th March 2010, 7:28
An occurrence of new teams is the best news for teams like Force India or Toro Rosso, I guess. So whatever happens, the Malya’s team will not have finished the championship on last place. I don’t expect Force India to make big progress, even though they showed their teeth last year. I think they will be half way between the new teams and others somewhere near 8th position.
maciek
8th March 2010, 7:56
ASide from Sutil’s tendency to crash more often than others, i don’t really know why people are saying that their driver line-up is their weak point. They bot th showed flashes of impressive form – I’ll reserve jusdgment until I see them in a good all-around car, which they might have this year. I’d like the team to do well, for some reason I just have a soft spot for them, but it’s the ‘BMW syndrome’ that scares me: onwards and upwards for a couple of years, then flop. However, being an optimist, I say they will be top of teh midfield with maybe a win or two. Voted 5th.
maciek
8th March 2010, 8:00
Spelling before coffee doesn’t work.
wasiF1
8th March 2010, 8:18
I hope Force India have the force to perform well this season.
Pengo
8th March 2010, 8:42
I’m curious to see how Karun Chandhok fares this year with HRT. With the Indian GP coming in 2011, will VJM think about signing him up if his talent shows?
Sirko
8th March 2010, 8:51
It would be logical decision, I think.
Rits
8th March 2010, 9:44
Don’t see that happening, rather, what I see happening is, Sutil getting replaced by Di Resta in 2011. I’d like to be proven wrong, would be great if Sutil could convert his brilliant pace to points this year, or else it’s definitely going to hurt him.
Sirko
8th March 2010, 10:56
Who knows what can happen, I think Malya is waiting for a talented Indian driver. Look what Kobayashi made last year, it was a big surprise in terms of his results in GP2. Nobody had wanted him until he had shown his speed in Toyota. So if Karun will show some real talent (though Campos doesn’t seem like a team where you can show all your skills)… One day it must happen, that’s the purpose. The country becomes glorified not by the team’s name, but by the driver’s name, I think.
PJA
8th March 2010, 9:13
With relative stability at Force India in terms of drivers and engine, and with the improvements seen at the end of last season Force India will be expecting to move up the pecking order this year. I think they may finish 7th in 2010.
This could be a key season for both drivers, Sutil will have to start cutting out the mistakes and score points regularly for the team. Luizzi will know this will probably be his last chance to impress in F1, as nowadays it is rare for drivers to get a second go at F1 let alone a third.
While it is great news for Di Resta to get track time during Friday Practice I can’t see how it will be of benefit to either race driver, and it must surely be a sign that the team are lining him up for a race seat in 2011, if not before if one the drivers has a really bad season this year.
Rits
8th March 2010, 9:35
People, listen. Take my word for it, if Adrian tries to finish races, then points are not at all tough for Force India. He’s faster than almost all the mid-field drivers and possibly even some of the drivers from the front four.
You have to look at figures and development capabilities (don’t mean resources but ability), which would suggest that Force India will definitely finish ahead of STR and Renault for starters because, STR have built their own chassis for the first time and Renault are working with plumbers to develop their car!
Sauber have a reasonable car now, but their finances are very iffy and thus development through the season is a question.
Williams are looking good, but they’re not ahead of Force India by any means.
The only thing that’s worrying right now is Key leaving for Sauber. That might, just might, cause the aero development of Force India some trouble.
So, I think Williams and Force India will be in close contention for 5th, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Force India broke into the front four! I say this as I know Mallya’s grit and success history. He’s hardly ever failed at something. And I think he’s shown, in just two seasons, that he means serious business.
I’m not one of ’em ‘only emotional’ supporters, so this is exactly what I know.
Rest, will be there for us all to see. No one can tell certainly what could happen, so lets just enjoy this cracker of a season first of all, whatever happens, the season 2010 will be the ultimate winner imo :)
Immort
8th March 2010, 10:21
I agree with Rits, they even will be beter if it’s raining. 5-6 will be FI and Willems and if one of the four is not that good even higher.
indyheer
8th March 2010, 20:28
100% agree with you rits!!!! force india are going to be a force this season, mark my words
the people who think sutil is not good enough haven’t got a clue. this guy is FAST!!! one of the fast drivers on the grid and sorry but alot of his crashes were not his fault… trulli, Raikkonen…
Williams are they only team to be worried about but force india car is faster…
just wait and see in Bahrain and see where sutil will qualify top 6!!!!!
this team will be regular points earners and could win races most likely in spa, monza or canada.
Mike-e
9th March 2010, 3:21
i love it how more people think force india will finish first than people think they will finish last. That shows they must have improved some what.
sijs
9th March 2010, 10:57
Absolutely! People now recognizing them as strong mid-field team is in itself an achievement.
JV
9th March 2010, 7:26
I voted them 5th because from testing they looks clearly faster than Renault,Sauber and STR,and as quick as williams.One more point at the start of the last year, in pre-season testing they were more than asecond slower than front runners even though they managed to catch them.They dis a really good job developing the car so I don’t think any of the mid-field team will out perform them in that part either.
pawan
9th March 2010, 20:34
yaa surely force india will get at least 4 points from the 1st day itself….because the wheels are started to move on……. I voted for 7th.
Amam
10th March 2010, 8:45
yeah we are better than Renault & Sauber……and we are up to up with Williams …so at the midfield ..3 teams will be head to head i:e 1}Williams 2}BMW 3}Force India…no Kimi in 2010 f1 so it is good for Adrian.. I voted for 7th.
Chaz
11th March 2010, 21:27
I’m really hoping Force India can improve on last year. I had also been hoping that Adrian would go to Mercedes, that is before the Schumacher frenzy, but in interviews he comes across as very loyal to Force India…
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