Force India: Drivers compromised by qualifying

2011 Belgian GP team review

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Both Force India drivers started in the bottom half of the field after a poor qualifying session.

But Sutil recovered to claim points, while di Resta was caught up in the first-corner mayhem.

Adrian SutilPaul di Resta
Qualifying position1517
Qualifying time comparison (Q1)2’06.000 (-1.758)2’07.758
Race position711
Laps44/4444/44
Pit stops22

Force India drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344
Adrian Sutil126.655118.143117.919117.592118.223117.54117.099116.935117.394117.752117.244118.196131.134159.178172.918168.847116.562114.892114.562114.433114.37114.635114.785114.45114.444114.859114.763115.046114.859115.35118.099126.262112.591113.629113.05113.807113.553113.219113.057113.158113.01113.273114.282112.837
Paul di Resta127.763119.989118.381117.213119.275117.289116.82117.528117.186117.209117.588117.519130.117158.447176.32167.411117.24117.17116.508115.515115.46115.815115.306115.07115.609115.527115.713115.651115.642119.267126.755113.223113.522113.5113.894114.486113.635113.965113.646113.613113.896113.919113.535115.75

Adrian Sutil

Sutil looked very quick in wet practice but a crash at Raidillon in qualifying left him 15th on the grid:

“I made a little mistake on the exit of Eau Rouge. I ran a bit wide, touched the kerb and the rear of the car went away from me and sent me into the barrier.”

But he steered clear of trouble in the race to bring his car home behind the two Mercedes. He’s now within three points of Kamui Kobayashi in the drivers’ championship.

Adrian Sutil 2011 form guide

Paul di Resta, Force India, Spa-Francorchamps, 2011

Paul di Resta

Di Resta rued his team’s decision to bring him in late in Q3, missing an opportunity to improve his time and causing him to be knocked out: “We chose to go out at the start of Q1 and sat out the middle part so that we could make the most of the track conditions at the end of the session.

“Unfortunately it started raining again and I got caught out at the chicane and spun on what would have been my quickest lap.

“On the next lap the team called me in thinking the track was wet and that we were safe, but when I got back to the pits they told me that Kovalainen had gone quicker, which knocked me out of qualifying.”

On race day Di Resta fell victim to the hazards of starting in the middle of the pack as he was hit by Timo Glock at the start: “That put a big hole in the floor, damaged my front wing and gave me a lot of understeer.”

His race was compromised again when the safety car came out, as neither of the Force Indias had pitted by that point and di Resta had to wait for Sutil to pit, costing him several places. He finished just out of the points in 11th.

Paul di Resta 2011 form guide

2011 Belgian Grand Prix

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    Image © Force India F1 Team

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    Keith Collantine
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    10 comments on “Force India: Drivers compromised by qualifying”

    1. A bit of a bad Saturday and mixed results for Sunday, but all in all I think FI can look ahead with confidence for the next few races.

      I heard some rumours whereby Sutil would replace Rubens at Williams next year, not sure what to make of that, but it would open up a place to slot in the Hulk, certainly not something to be sad about.

      1. It would be a weird decision from Vijay to replace Hulkenberg with a fast and reliable Sutil… That s my opinion…

      2. Why would Sutil go to Williams from Force India? FI are a team on the up, Williams most certainly in decline.

        1. Williams have big changes coming next year but it may just pay off.

          It’s not like Williams could get much worse.

      3. Sutil’s race wasn’t bad, I didn’t notice him during the race but he was 7th which isn’t bad.

    2. Great race from Adrian, again… :) I am really enjoying the “Koba chase”, now only 3 points are missing… :)

    3. I don’t think qualifying compromised Sutil too much really. I think seventh was the best the team could have hoped for.

    4. now its getting tougher for sauber to keep force india at bay.

    5. now its getting tougher for sauber to keep force india at bay.

      unless they lose momentum towards the end of the season

      1. now its getting tougher for sauber to keep force india at bay.

        unless they lose momentum towards the end of the season

    Comments are closed.