Force India will run a new front wing at the Turkish Grand Prix as the team bid to stay in the hunt for points.
Team principal Vijay Mallya said: “I see no reason why we cannot challenge for points at every race this year.
“Plus, we have some promising aerodynamic upgrades in the pipeline, which should make a significant difference to the performance of the car in the coming races.”
Paul di Resta will be driving at the Istanbul Park circuit for the first time.
He will get to run in all three practice sessions as test driver Nico Hulkenberg will drive Adrian Sutil’s car in first practice.
Di Resta said: “Racing at Istanbul will be a new experience for me because I didn’t take part in Friday practice last year and I’ve never driven the track. All I have to go on is the simulator work I’ve carried out in preparation for the event.
“Turn eight will be difficult, but the other corners are equally important for a good lap time. For learning a new track the simulation work helps and the team also provide me with as much information as possible. But I need to get an impression first before I think too much about it.”
2011 Turkish Grand Prix
Image © Force India F1 Team
RIISE (@riise)
2nd May 2011, 10:19
Ok then the Top 10 places will mostly be;
Red Bull – Both cars
McLaren – Both cars
Ferrari – Both cars
Renault – Both cars provided quali goes to plan
Which leaves Mercedes who should have improved the car enough now to get consistent Top 8 finishes.
Then Sauber and Williams, I don’t see how they can challenge for points (A single point perhaps), but even then it would be down to other teams misfortune.
slr
2nd May 2011, 10:23
Sauber have scored their points on merit, if they can keep moving in the right direction, then they can challenge Mercedes for more points.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd May 2011, 11:35
Its obvious they can challenge for points. If you have at least one of your cars running in the top 14 every race, you have a strong chance to get points. Right now FI seems to be ahead of Williams, and at par with the Sauber. Plus FI have the best driver lineup amongst all the midfield teams, so I do not see why targeting points at every race is out of the question.
Additionally, at least one of the Renault drivers will not be consistent, nor will Schumacher for Mercedes. So it seems like 9th and 10th spot will always be up for grabs.
timi
2nd May 2011, 11:55
RIISE your prediction is just a prediction of the qualification results. we all know how different saturday morning’s results can be when compared to sunday’s results.
race pace can be a bigger variable/advantage than qualy pace. and theyve shown good race pace..
RIISE (@riise)
2nd May 2011, 12:03
No it isn’t a prediction of qualification, Top ten get points and that was the point I was referring to when I quoted Vijay’s statement.
I don’t think they have the capabilities to challenge for points every race. I may be proven wrong but that’s the fun thing about an opinion.
Fixy (@)
2nd May 2011, 15:35
They might have the chance, but they will be against both Saubers, maybe a Toro Rosso or Williams. That is like saying Ferrari has had winning chances.
Dev
2nd May 2011, 12:24
i think by mid season FI could be as strong as Ferrari… Many of the bigger teams will give up working on their current car if it’s not giving expected results & focus on developing car for next season… thats where FI & Sauber will score more points.
bosyber
2nd May 2011, 16:54
There’s a difference between being in the points regularly and challenging for the points regularly.
Right now, FI are in the field of cars that can hope to get into the points before each race, together with at least Sauber, Torro Rosso, and if they get things together Williams.
Given some luck and a good weekend, they all have chances to compete for top 6-10 places, as Renault and Mercedes seem to have trouble getting both cars working well over the weekend (well, maybe Red Bull too, but …) and Ferrari might also currently be giving them some room.
MacLeod
2nd May 2011, 10:19
Team principal Vijay Mallya said: “I see no reason why we cannot challenge for points at every race this year.
That i find very strange because without contant upgrades no points.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
2nd May 2011, 11:35
True, but di Resta has scored twice already. I know Australia was lucky but he was unlucky in China, so it all balances out.
Still I don’t expect to see them there for more than half the races.
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd May 2011, 10:46
Lets see what all those updates across the grid change. FI certainly needs to find something on pace not to be reliant on other teams dropping out to get some points.
Calum (@calum)
2nd May 2011, 11:21
If Paul can win the quali battle, and finish ahead of Sutil, then surely Sutil will be getting replaced by Hulkenberg, a driver already proven in F1.
TFLB
2nd May 2011, 13:53
The only thing Hulkenberg has proven is that he is inconsistent and massively dissapointing compared to what was expected of him.
Dev
2nd May 2011, 12:08
i think they are working on a huge upgrade, by Monaco we will know if they are capable to get points on merit.
wigster (@wigster)
2nd May 2011, 12:48
I think FI are ahead of Williams and possibly level with Sauber on pace, so it is reasonable to be challenging for 8/9/10th place each race because the top 5 teams will very rarely if ever all have trouble free and fast weekends.
All it takes is a DNF, crash, safety car, rain or poor strategy to adversely affect a car from 1 or 2 of the top 5 teams, and normally at least a couple of cars are affected by one of those each race, and then FI are going to be there challenging at the front of the midfield to pick up the pieces and the points.
Boomerang
2nd May 2011, 13:10
Unpredictable Tyre performance pops into equation as well. That means everything is possible ;-)
Fixy (@)
2nd May 2011, 15:45
Force India continue to announce improvements but they are never improving, if not getting worse.
geo132 (@geo132)
2nd May 2011, 16:25
Teams say they got updates which will help them get into the points, but they might be forgetting that all other teams are getting updates too..
So say FI declare about updates, but so do Mercedes, Williams, Toro Rosso and who not! Considering other teams had a slightly better races, including their updates, most likely FI won’t have an easy time getting them points..
Can’t wait for the weekend already!
LuvinF1
2nd May 2011, 16:36
Yeah, but … does it flex?
US_Peter (@us_peter)
3rd May 2011, 0:10
And even more important… will it blend?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
3rd May 2011, 13:53
Di Resta has had a decent start but pretty bad from Sutil so far from what I remember.
I think it’s a case of who performs worse between themselves and Williams for the divide of points.
King Six
3rd May 2011, 16:13
They already got into Q3 with a rookie driver but if you read these comments it’s as if they’re doing as bad as HRT/Virgin. This team has a lower budget than all of the other midfield teams (Sauber, Williams, Toro Rosso), I think they punched quite abit above their weight last season. Until personnel loss and lack of updates cost them 6th in the WCC.
Dev
4th May 2011, 4:21
and liuzzi’s in ability to drive quick.