Thursday, August 21, 2008

Europe preview quotes: Force India

Giancarlo Fisichella: "I'm looking forward to getting back in the car after the short break. I took some time off to be with my family and do some training, so I feel quite refreshed and ready to tackle the last races of the season, especially as they include some of my favourite tracks - particularly my home race in Monza.

"My targets for the rest of the season will be to have good reliability, finish all the races and be there if there are opportunities to score points. Valencia is a completely new track for everyone and a good challenge. It looks very fast, particularly for a street circuit, and I've heard it is sold out so the atmosphere will be good.

"I am pleased we will be able to actually race the new seamless shift gearbox now. We've been having some good fights so far, particularly with Honda, and with the gearbox worth a couple of tenths per lap this may just move us in front - the field is so close now that any new developments will move us closer."


Adrian Sutil: "Over the summer break I've been training in the mountains and working on my fitness for the second half of the year, which will be tough with the four flyaway races at the end of the season.

"We had some good races at the same circuits last year and I scored my first point in Fuji, so for sure I am looking forward to these races. As the new events in Valencia and Singapore are street events, and we've had some good races on this type of circuit, I think we have a good chance of getting some good finishes.

"Looking to the next race in Valencia, we will be using the seamless shift gearbox for the first time at a race and hopefully that will give us a few tenths to be able to qualify a bit better. This has got to be the goal for the second half of the year."


Colin Kolles, team principal: "The three-week break is actually an opportunity for the race team to take some time off as it's been a very busy few months with the testing and racing. With the season being 18 races this year, it's a long season and it's good to take time off while it's a bit quieter.

"We didn't completely shut down, though, following the tests and running of the seamless shift box in Hungary, we've gone over the data and are making sure we are fully prepared for its introduction under race conditions in Valencia. We also took part in the Rotterdam Racing event, which was great fun for the team and the drivers."


Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "Going to new circuits presents a different challenge for the team, but it's an interesting challenge for the engineers as well as the drivers, and Valencia in itself will be a fascinating and unique event.

"In terms of preparation, we obviously look at the track layout and put this into our computer simulations so we have a fair idea of the nature of the circuit. There are some things you can't understand from the computers however, specifically the nature of the asphalt, how the tyres are going to react, whether you can use the kerbs or not, and so on are all unknown quantities until we get to the track. It's a good challenge though and will keep us busy."



  • Europe preview quotes: BMW
  • Europe preview quotes: Toyota
  • New Valencia track secures GP2 race
  • Europe preview quotes: Honda
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