Difficult Turkish Saturday for Force India
The Force India Formula One Team will start tomorrow's Turkish Grand Prix from 11th position with Adrian Sutil and 18th with Tonio Liuzzi following a testing day at the anti-clockwise Istanbul Park Circuit.
Adrian's preparations for the session were mired when a hydraulic pressure problem developed on his installation lap during the earlier morning practice, causing him to miss the remainder of the hour session. With only limited data on the new SRW (switchable rear wing) it was decided to run the system on just Tonio's car. Despite the setbacks, Adrian eased into Q2 and was a contender for a Q3 slot until the dying seconds of the second segment when he was just pushed out of the top 10 by Michael Schumacher.
Tonio had a more difficult qualifying as he was eliminated in Q1. Struggling with grip throughout the 20 minute opener, he could not get his ideal lap together and posted a 1:28.958, which placed him 18th on the grid for tomorrow's 58 lap race.
Adrian Sutil (car 14): "This morning I couldn't do any running because of a hydraulic problem on the car and as we had some problems yesterday as well, I didn't really know what to expect out there in qualifying as I hadn't done so many laps before. All the same we had a good balance on the car and I was quite happy with the final lap time. We were very close to Q3 again, just under a tenth, so I think it's all open for tomorrow. Eleventh on the grid, and the good side as well, I think we can be very confident. It will be a tough race with the heat but I think we have a good chance to score some points again."
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15): "We didn't get the most from qualifying today and should have been in a better position. We have been struggling with the grip since the start of the weekend and had a pretty similar issue to Barcelona. We don't seem to have the right balance or get the tyres to work, particularly at the rear of the car. We are trying a couple of things and once it is sorted we will be competitive for sure, so it's not worth dwelling on today. The new switchable rear wing has been a big step forward so we can be pretty confident about the race. So although it's disappointing for now, tomorrow we should be able to move up the field and do as much as we can."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "It's been a difficult weekend with various issues to contend with, but it's tomorrow that counts. Adrian is still in a very good position, on the clean side of the track and able to run new tyres, and he has scored points from further down the field before. Tonio also has the use of our new SRW device and should be able to make the most of it on the longer straight here. So, overall, we can remain positive and look to make the most of whatever comes our way."
Adrian Sutil (car 14, VJM03/03):
FP3: NC
Q1: 10th 1:27.951 (11 laps)
Q2: 11th 1:27.525 (7 laps)
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15, VJM03/04):
FP3: 16th 1:29.211 (15 laps)
Q1: 18th 1:28.958 (8 laps)
