16/04/2011
NEWS STORY
The Force India Formula One Team will start the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix with Paul Di Resta in 8th place and Adrian Sutil in 11th. For the first time this season, and after a busy weekend for the boys in the garage, the team qualified into Q3 with Paul setting impressive lap times in each of today's outings. Adrian narrowly missed out on a top 10 position due to a stop at the weighbridge and the Red Flag situation at the end of Q2. However he came home in P11 and will also be in the middle of the action for the start of tomorrow's race.
Adrian Sutil: It was a good qualifying and I am looking forward to the race tomorrow. This weekend has so far been much better than the last ones, with no real problems so it looks good for us. It was a little bit difficult at the end of the session when the red flag came out and I missed out on a final flying lap, but overall I am very happy and our car performance is improving well.
Paul Di Resta: I could not have wished for more today and it's nice to get into Q3. After missing the whole of FP2 yesterday we knew that it was going to be difficult this morning, but we've got a small upgrade here and it certainly improved the performance today. Luckily I did my quickest lap in the second running in Q1, as I just struggled a little bit with balance in the others. Our race pace seems to be not too bad, so fingers crossed we can pick up some points again tomorrow as we have in the previous two grands prix.
Dominic Harlow, circuit engineering director: A cooler day today and different atmospheric conditions have had a significant effect on the lap times compared to Friday. Our FP3 programme was normal and without issues and we completed a few additional laps for Paul to check the balance of his car. We achieved our first Q3 position of the year in P8, and so congratulations to Paul who also celebrates his Birthday today. I think that we were there on merit and the car's improving pace is showing. Adrian also demonstrated this with his P11, just missing out on the third period of Qualifying. With the red flag, and having been weighed earlier in the session, he wasn't able to complete a full second outing. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to the race tomorrow and, of course, aiming to secure further points.
To check out our Shanghai qualifying gallery, click here.