Thaindian News

Silverstone, July 5 (IANS) Force India will look to build on their spirited performance in Valencia by scoring another points finish in the Formula One British Grand Prix here over the weekend.

Another reason why Force India will be eager to perform here is that they have their factory right next to the 5.8-km Silverstone Circuit.

The car was competitive throughout the European Grand Prix two weeks ago with drivers Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta being impressive, especially in the qualifying. Though di Resta got his strategy wrong towards the end of the race and finished out of points, Sutil did well to come ninth from 10th on the grid.

“We arrive at Silverstone off the back of one of our strongest performances of the year in Valencia. The car was competitive in practice, we qualified in the top ten and finished in the points. It was proof that all our hard work to improve the car is starting to pay off. The progress we have made since Monaco has given us the reassurance that we are moving in the right direction,” said Team Principal Vijay Mallya.

“We will look to repeat the high of Valencia. The car continues to evolve and we will also have to see what happens with the changes to the regulations regarding blown floors. It is something that will have an impact on all the teams and we will need to assess that.”

Sutil is looking forward to race in “one of his favourite circuits” and said the changes in the track layout will make overtaking easier.

Silverstone is a great circuit. I like the high-speed section through Copse, Maggots and Becketts, which feels very nice to drive. It is definitely a place where you feel the performance of an F1 car. And after three street circuits, it will be a nice change to be back at a traditional old-school circuit,” said Sutil.

“They changed the circuit last year and I have to say I enjoy the new layout just as much as the old one. The new turns one and two make up a really quick right-left chicane and it is taken almost flat in qualifying. I also think that the new layout makes it a bit easier to overtake because the old lap was so quick that it was almost impossible to follow a car closely,” he said.

The German said it will be a hectic week for the entire team as they are based out of here and will also give him the opportunity to meet people who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

“It’s a very busy weekend because our factory is next to the circuit. It gives me a chance to spend quite a bit of time there in the build-up to the race to see the people who don’t come to the tracks. We always have a barbecue at the factory over the weekend, which I usually go along to,” he said.

Force India are lying at eighth place in the Constructor’s Championship with 12 points of eight races.