20/09/2010
NEWS STORY
The Singapore Grand Prix will be the first race of a quintet of flyaway races that will bring the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship to a close. With the drivers' title hunt still alive and the constructors' championship more competitive than ever before, Singapore is poised to bring an exciting twist to the series' denouement.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: We were of course all hoping to score some points in Monza, but we were very unlucky in qualifying and then the race. Yet with so much to play for in this part of the season we can't look backwards at missed opportunities: we have to look to making the most of the chances coming up. We've got a good package for Singapore that we have been working on back in the factory and the wind tunnel. Clearly it's a very different downforce level to what the last two circuits have needed, but we feel that we have a good compromise between speed and balance into the corners and are able to perform strongly on the high downforce tracks as well as the low. We certainly want to hang on to sixth in the World Championship, and not let Williams get past us. That clearly is a priority.
For personal reasons we'd love to do well in Singapore as well, there's a huge Indian community, a huge amount of excitement. The same holds good in Abu Dhabi for us. And now that the Indian GP has been officially announced, the whole region is full of excitement and buzz. Force India would love to score a result that consolidates our position in the championship on what we consider to be our second 'home' territory.
Adrian Sutil: Singapore is a real street circuit, like a cross between Valencia and Monaco. Some parts are very safe with plenty of run off - particularly in turn 1, 2 and 3 - but there are a lot of corners so it's challenging to drive.
As everyone knows, we'll be racing at night so the whole approach is different - we'll be sleeping during the day and racing at night. In the last two years it hasn't been a problem and this year it should be easier as you learn more about the technique every time you go. Racing under the lights is also absolutely fine. Last year they were very bright so although it felt like you were driving at night it was very clear to see.
Points have got to be the aim this time. Williams had a great event in Italy and really closed the gap to us, so we need as many points as we can. There are only a couple of overtaking places so qualifying is crucial and we'll be looking to get the whole package right from practice so we can optimise our position for the start. We've shown we have a car that's capable of getting into the top ten - we were only a few hundredths from Q3 in Monza - but we have to really nail it this time to give ourselves the best chance of points.
For the first time since Hungary we'll be running in high downforce configuration and we have some aero upgrades and bodywork updates we'll introduce specifically for the demands of the Singapore track. I'm really looking forward to it - we had a great race in Monaco and in Hungary we would have been in the points were it not for the accident in the pitlane. Singapore's not been the luckiest race for me in the past but this is my best chance to put that right.
Tonio Liuzzi: Monza was a real shame for the team as we missed out on more points, which was frustrating as we really believe the car was capable of seventh or eighth. All the same I don't have any regrets from the weekend as we had a few mechanical issues that we know we are on top of and are confident won't happen again. With this in mind we can go out in Singapore knowing we are still very competitive and can take the fight to Williams for sixth.
Singapore is up next and it's a circuit I enjoy. It's quite a technical circuit, with a lot of corners and tight bends. Some people compare it to Monaco, but there are some big differences: you cannot make mistakes at Monaco but at Singapore you often get a second chance as there is so much run off area. It requires a huge amount of concentration from both the driver and the engineers to get the right balance of high downforce and speed for some of the straights, but I enjoy the challenge and last year it was a good race for me.
The team is working hard and we will have another aero update ready for the car, so that is always a boost heading into a Grand Prix weekend, particularly when the field is so close now. I'll still try and make as big a difference as possible in the cockpit and do everything I can to make up for the points we missed out on in Monza. We've shown we are capable of scoring, the car is good and now everyone is particularly motivated to hang on to what we achieved in the first part of the year.
Paul di Resta: Unfortunately I won't be out in Singapore as it's such a crucial race for the team, with so much to play for in the championship and a few new parts on the car. All the same I'll be with the team the whole weekend and I'm excited about going there, as there will be some challenges I've not encountered so far this year. It will be another street track, and it will obviously be in the dark for most of the running so the whole approach to the weekend will be different.
Everyone says how nice it is, not only the circuit, but also the city so in some of the free time I'll try and do some exploring and get a feel for the country. I'm really looking forward to it and am going to try and help the team as much as I can over the weekend.