26/03/2011
NEWS STORY
The Force India F1 Team will start tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix with new driver Paul Di Resta in 14th place and Adrian Sutil in 16th. The qualifying results are consistent with the times set by both drivers during the free practice sessions this weekend. Paul and Adrian will be on the 7th and 8th rows of the grid respectively, right in the middle of the action for the start of the first race of the 2011 Formula One World Championship tomorrow.
Adrian Sutil: During qualifying itself our speed was ok and better than expected. On my flying lap in Q2 I was only a few hundred metres from the finish line when I ran wide on the kerb, lost the rear and had a spin. It is a shame because I was on for a 1:26.1 so I could have been in the region of P12. It's looking quite good for the race tomorrow; for sure we have opportunities to pass people with the rear wing and KERS, so lets see how it goes.
Paul Di Resta: I think if you'd have said that we would be starting the race from P14 going in to qualifying, we'd have been pretty happy. So for my first qualifying session I think we have to be happy with our result today and it gives me a place to build on for the future. I'd like to thank everyone in the team for their efforts and I'm really looking forward to the race tomorrow.
Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer: Today's standings built on our free practice results and gave us some additional information on the Pirelli tyres. Australia is a race renowned for its high rate of attrition and we feel confident that our tried and tested KERS hybrid system and overall reliability will hold us in good stead. We have paid close attention to our tyre strategy today as we believe that tyre choice and management will impact significantly on performance throughout the grid tomorrow. Whilst it would have been preferable to qualify higher up the grid, we are targeting race points and look forward to getting the season underway.
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