The Force India F1 Team has finished the Italian Grand Prix with Tonio Liuzzi in 12th and Adrian Sutil in 16th after a tough 53 lap race. After a disappointing qualifying yesterday in which he could not set a flying lap, Tonio made up seven positions from his starting slot and finished just a couple of seconds from the points.

Adrian had a more turbulent race after a tricky first lap put him down at the rear of the field. As a strategic call he then pitted at the end of the lap to change to the harder tyre option to take advantage when the other drivers changed tyres later on. Back on track, Adrian started to scythe through the field and was up to 15th when he had to come back to pit for a new nosecone. This unscheduled stop then put him back to 16th and out of the points.

Adrian Sutil: Obviously a very difficult race. The first lap was not good when I was pushed wide into the gravel in one of the early corners and lost a lot of positions. By the end of lap one I was at the end of the field so we decided to come in to change to the harder tyres as a strategic move to make up positions when the others pitted. I did my own race from that point on, which worked really well but we couldn't get close to the points when I had to come in for the nosecone change. It's one of those races where you hope to do better but I'm not too disappointed as it's been a good season so far and there are still five races left.

Tonio Liuzzi: It was definitely a nice race to drive but from 19th position it was always going to be difficult to score points, particularly as there weren't any safety cars. We had some good fights and in the end we finished in 12th position. We had a good car and I think we were quick enough to finish in the points today but when you are behind someone who is not that much slower than you it's quite difficult to get past. I was pushing hard to pass Buemi and Rubens [Barrichello] but we were more or less at the same pace. Overall though we had a strong pace and it was a shame to just miss out on the points.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: Although we're disappointed not to have scored points today we've got to look forward. The car was competitive enough to finish in the points today, with a good overall pace, which is what we have to focus on in the coming races. Both drivers were unlucky: Tonio's qualifying issues made it difficult to score points and then with his problems on the first lap Adrian found himself too far down the field to be able to make in roads to the top 10. It's a shame but we'll pick ourselves up and take the challenge back in Singapore.

To check out our Italian GP gallery, click here