Sahara Force India looks forward to Bahrain

David Bodapati April 18, 2013

331 4 minutes read

Bahrain 18 April 2013: Just a few short days have elapsed since Fernando Alonso scored Ferrari’s first victory of the 2013 season in China, but Formula One is already deep in preparations for round four of the championship, which takes place this coming weekend in Bahrain.

Sahara Force India gets set for round four of the season in Bahrain as Team Principal Vijay Mallya expects the team to realise its full potential in Bahrain. He said:

“Last weekend’s race in China left us with mixed feelings: the pace of the VJM06 was evident throughout the sessions and we would have been on track to place both Paul and Adrian in the points had it not been for the unfortunate accident with Gutierrez in the opening stages.

Paul’s pace, especially when he had clear air, was indicative of the quality of the work done by the team. We were also very satisfied by the good job done in the pits with a clean and fast final stop helping Paul emerge ahead of Grosjean and Hulkenberg after a race-long battle.

We now head to Bahrain, where last year we had an excellent result with Paul finishing sixth. This track, with its high temperature and smooth surface, has generally suited our car and we hope this will be the case this weekend. With a bit more luck, we will be able to fully exploit the potential of our car and get some more points on the board before the European leg of the season.“

Sahara Force India’s Paul di Rest answers questions ahead of Bahrain.

You were back in the points in China with a great drive – tell us how it felt in the car…
Overall it was a good result when you consider how the first half of the race went. I was stuck in traffic, my tyres were graining and I couldn’t move forward. Fortunately we got ourselves into some clean air after my second pit stop and I think we showed that the potential of the car is very strong. We thought we would have to go on the softs at the end and overtake some cars, but we had such good speed that we managed to jump them with our strategy. In the end we left China feeling pretty satisfied, but knowing that there is more potential to come.

What are your thoughts on Bahrain?
I’m looking forward to it. We’re back in the hot weather and we were strong in the heat of Malaysia so there are no real worries. Last year the car worked well in Bahrain, which gives us confidence heading into the weekend. We’ve got a few things to understand and I think we can go forward a bit more. We’re back to the medium and hard, the same as we had in Malaysia, where we were strong.

What do you need from the car there?
A bit more speed, as we always do! We need a clearer weekend; we don’t need things to go wrong, as they did in FP3 in China. It lost us a session, lost us a few hundredths, and that would have made the difference to put us out of position in qualifying to have an easier first lap. So that will be the plan – to be more consistent.

I like the Sakhir track, says Adrian Sutil

Adrian, sum up your feelings after China…
The race was very short. I had a little incident with Paul early on, but we spoke about it, and there’s no problem. For the next few laps I was catching up the cars in front and then Gutierrez just missed his braking point and crashed into my rear. It’s frustrating, but what can you do? He will learn so there are no hard feelings. Hopefully he will not do it again.

Looking at where Paul finished would it have been easy to get some good points?
It’s never easy, but I think we can learn quite a lot out of the race. The pace was not so good at the beginning, but much better at the end. We have to understand why. Paul got some good points for the team, but we lost some pace this weekend in general, and there were quite a few quick cars who didn’t finish the race. So we have to get a move on in Bahrain! It should be better for us there.

Is Sakhir a track you enjoy?
I like it, yes. With a good car I like almost every circuit. The track is not one of the most difficult ones, but it has a lot of big braking points, so you need a strong car on the brakes. The heat is very different to China, with very high temperatures, and also there’s a different combination of tyres.

BIC, a challenging track

The Bahrain International Circuit joined the F1 calendar in 2004 and has hosted the grand prix eight times. During that time it has established itself as uniquely challenging track. The dusty environment can cause problems for engines, the heat of the desert makes cooling a priority and the mix of slow-speed corners at the end of long straights means that the BIC is one of the most severe on brakes all season. While tyres are already defining the shape of the championship, the dust here adds yet another variable to their use, with graining exacerbated when the track is dirty. The mix of high and low-speed sections also means that set-up is something of a compromise.

It all means that the Bahrain GP will not be an easy race for any team. However, on the back of Alonso’s win in China, Ferrari will arrive here brimming with confidence. That optimism will be heightened by the knowledge that the Spaniard has been the dominant force at the BIC, taking three victories here – in 2005/’06 and in 2010. They’ll also take heart from the fact that the next most successful driver is Alonso’s team-mate, the rejuvenated Felipe Massa, who has two wins under his belt, in ’07 and ’08.

They surely won’t have it all own way, however. Sebastian Vettel’s fourth place in China keeps him in charge of the drivers’ title standings and Kimi Raikkonen’s second place last weekend means he arrives here in second place just three points behind the Red Bull man. Both will be looking to maintain their charge here, but with Mercedes looking ominously competitive and Jenson Button’s fifth place in China proving that McLaren are getting back to their best the weekend’s grand prix is as wide open as the desert landscape in which it will be run.

ends