Force India confirms Sutil, di Resta and Hülkenberg

The Force India F1 Team confirmed it has finalised its driver line-up for the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship season. Following weeks of speculation, Adrian Sutil will continue with the Silverstone-based team for a fifth consecutive season and will be joined by Paul di Resta, who will make his Formula One race debut. Nico Hülkenberg will join Force India as the test and reserve driver as part of a long-term partnership with the team.

Twenty-seven year old Adrian, from south Germany, enjoyed his most successful season in F1 last year, securing 47 points to help the team to seventh position in the constructors’ championship. En route to his highest-ever drivers’ championship classification he notched up nine points scoring positions, including fifth in the Malaysian Grand Prix. He is now hungry to achieve both his, and the team’s, ultimate goal of becoming a regular podium challenger.

2011 marks Paul’s F1 race debut following a strong year of Friday performances as Force India’s test and reserve driver last season and his recent DTM title success. The 24-year-old Scot joined the team after an impressive test in late 2009 and participated in eight free practice sessions in 2010 to get up to speed with the challenges of F1 circuits. This invaluable experience will now be put to full use when he makes his race debut.

German Nico Hülkenberg, 23, completes the Force India F1 Team’s driver line-up for the 2011 season. Nico’s strong performances in the junior formulae and his impressive rookie form in last year’s F1 championship, including a sensational pole position in Brazil, marked him out as a star of the future and the team was delighted to secure his services as test and reserve driver.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal of Force India F1 Team, "I am genuinely excited by the drivers we will be fielding in 2011. I believe that the combination of talent we’ve assembled gives us one of the strongest line-ups on the grid: Adrian has matured into one of F1’s most consistent and highly-rated young drivers, while Paul is, I believe, a real star of the future. He has won in every category in his career and this base speed was in evidence when he got in the car on Fridays last year. With Nico, signing him was too good an opportunity to let by. He showed a good racing head and talent and I was amazed by his control in Brazil last year. Together I think they are a formidable partnership and will help take us to the next level of performance."

Adrian Sutil commented, "I made my F1 debut with the team back in 2007 and we’ve worked together since then, so to stay for another year here feels very right. I’ve always said that I feel good in this team, it feels like family and when you feel good, you are confident and can push to your maximum. We’ve made some good progress together over the past four years and I’m excited to be part of the the team when it takes the next step, which is hopefully to become a front running team. We have the same ambitions so it makes a lot of sense to achieve them together."

Paul di Resta added, "Naturally I am thrilled to be making my race debut this season. Becoming an F1 driver has been a long-held ambition of mine, something I’ve wanted to do since I first stepped into a kart, and to finally realise it feels amazing. I’ve worked really hard for this opportunity throughout my career and to get it with Force India, a young team that’s got ambitions as big as mine, is genuinely exciting. I can’t wait to be on the grid in Bahrain, it can’t come soon enough."

Nico Hülkenberg said, "I am happy I can stay in F1 in 2011. I am looking forward to working with Force India and I am sure the team will continue improving in the future. I appreciate the team trusting me by signing a long-term contract. I will do my very best to live up to expectations."

Source: Nextgen

Prac One: Sutil quickest, Hamilton crashes

Adrian Sutil set the pace in Friday's rather wet opening practice session for the German GP, edging out the spinning Felipe Massa

With the rain coming down throughout the first half an hour of the session, the drivers had to contend with a wet track, something some handled better than others.

Sutil proved to be one of the stars in the rain, as he has in the past, clocking a 1:25.701, as he managed to stick to the dry line that had formed in the latter stage of the session.

And although Massa recorded at least five off-track moments or spins as he battled to stay on the dry parts, he still managed to finish in second place, albeit over a second down on Sutil.

Jenson Button claimed third after a late charge in the final moments of the session.
But it wasn't all good news for McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton did not have the best of mornings. The McLaren driver completed just three laps in the opening hour, spending most of it stuck in the pits while his mechanics worked on the new floor and blown diffuser exhaust on his car.

And when he finally did venture out, he only managed one timed lap before crashing into the barriers and causing quite a bit of damage to the left side and front of his car.

Report: With the rain coming down, Timo Glock was the first to do a sighting lap and despite travelling rather slowly around the track almost lost control of his VR01. Others also ventured out but it wasn't long before they too returned to the pits while Nico Hulkenberg chanced his luck on a second lap and went off at Turn Two before making his way back to his Williams garage. Jaime Alguersuari, with the full wet tyres, ventured out but ran off the track at the hairpin. He rejoined and went on to set the first time of the day, a 1:41.068. The Toro Rosso driver continued lapping, taking almost five seconds off his time.

Sebastian Vettel was the next to make his mark as he crossed the line with plumes of spray coming from the back of his car and in a time of 1:36.905. Vettel went quickest on his next lap despite fighting his Red Bull through the puddles while Mark Webber took second place before overhauling his German team-mate. Alguersuari returned to the P1 slot as Vettel ran off the track and then Webber ran off the track again.

Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastien Buemi and Lotus test driver Fairuz Fauzy slotted in behind the Bulls. Nico Rosberg claimed second place, Vitaly Petrov and Massa both ran off the track before the latter improved to first place with a 1:31.981. However, his reign was short-lived as Webber reclaimed the top spot, 0.962s up on the Ferrari driver's best.

Rosberg was the next to lead the way with a 1:30.864 as Hulkenberg took second place, Massa third and Adrian Sutil fourth. Despite the rain easing off and the track drying out a bit, the drivers continued to battle to stay on the track. Massa spun, Hulkenberg ran off the track and Bruno Senna ran wide. Massa went on to run onto the gravel at the hairpin as did one of the Renaults. Barrichello put his Williams into a nice long spin through Turn Three, coming to a halt on the track before resuming his running.

Fernando Alonso climbed to fourth place before taking the lead away from Rosberg with a 1:30.229. Vettel improved to secod place and Barrichello third before Rosberg returned to the top of the pile, 0.810s up on Alonso. Alguersuari joined the battle at the front of the pack while with 35 minutes there were still no times for Lewis Hamilton, Lucas di Grassi and Jarno Trulli.

Webber returned to the front of the pack with a 1:29.048, Hulkenberg claimed second and Alguersuari third. The two Saubers also put in a good run with Kobayashi climbing to fifth place and Pedro de la Rosa to seventh. Vettel joined Webber at the front of the pack, overhauling his team-mate by 0.313s.

With a definite dry line running the entire length of the track, Sutil was the next to take control as the Force India driver posted a 1:27.846. Hamilton finally posted his first time of the morning after his McLaren mechanics spent the better part of an hour working on the floor and new blown diffuser exhaust on his car. The McLaren driver crossed the line with a 1:29.429.

Massa went off the track again, this time at the stadium section. But despite all his offs the Brazilian managed to keep his car away from the barriers. Hamilton did not. His crashed his McLaren at Turn Three after sliding across the grass, into the barriers and damaging the left side and front nose of the car.

Yellow flags lifted, Massa put his car into another spin, Jarno Trulli ran off the track, Massa ran off the track, Buemi took second place, Massa third, Senna spun off the track at the final corner and beached his car in the gravel, Massa put his spins behind him to go quickest with a 1:26.850 and Petrov took second place.

However, it was Sutil who ended the session quickest of all, clocking a 1:25.701. Massa was second ahead of Jenson Button, who put in a late charge to move up the order.

Times:

01. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:25.701 20 laps
02. Massa Ferrari 1:26.850 + 1.149 27 laps
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.936 + 1.235 16 laps
04. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:26.947 + 1.246 21 laps
05. Petrov Renault 1:26.948 + 1.247 21 laps
06. Rosberg Mercedes 1:27.448 + 1.747 20 laps
07. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.114 + 2.413 31 laps
08. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:28.193 + 2.492 24 laps
09. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:28.300 + 2.599 19 laps
10. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.486 + 2.785 23 laps
11. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 laps
12. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 laps
13. Kubica Renault 1:28.903 + 3.202 20 laps
14. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:29.048 + 3.347 13 laps
15. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.280 + 3.579 17 laps
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.366 + 3.665 34 laps
17. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.429 + 3.728 8 laps
18. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:29.500 + 3.799 19 laps
19. Alonso Ferrari 1:29.684 + 3.983 15 laps
20. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.690 + 3.989 17 laps
21. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.938 + 5.237 27 laps
22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:31.720 + 6.019 23 laps
23. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.450 + 6.749 13 laps
24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:32.791 + 7.090 26 laps

Source: Planet-F1

German rivals unhappy with 'superstar' Vettel

It would be fair to say Sebastian Vettel is not on the Christmas card list of two of his countrymen and F1 rivals.

Veteran journalist Roger Benoit, long-time correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, travelled to Montreal on the same Zurich flight as Vettel and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.

He said the pair were seated not a car's length apart, but neither greeted one another nor exchanged a single word.

Benoit said the reason for the freeze was "clear": a few days earlier, Rosberg had said Vettel was definitely to blame for his crash with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber in Turkey.

Meanwhile, after Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, 22-year-old Vettel triggered the temper of Force India driver Adrian Sutil.
Vettel, he revealed to the media, had approached the 27-year-old and sarcastically asked if his rearview mirrors had fallen off during the Montreal race.

"He should be quiet. He thinks he's a superstar," Sutil is quoted as retorting.

Source: Motorsport.com

Sutil tops Ferrari and McLaren

Adrian Sutil claimed the first honours of the new season as the Force India driver topped the timesheets in Bahrain's Practice One, edging out Fernando Alonso.

Despite the hype surrounding the new season with its new regulations, new teams and returning drivers, the opening session in Bahrain failed to really impress.

Long distance heavy-fuelled runs were the order of the morning with Ferrari and McLaren appearing to have the advantage over their rivals, at least until Force India came into play.
Sutil moved to the top with a 1:56.583 beating Alonso and Renault's Robert Kubica while the two McLaren drivers were fourth and fifth ahead of Felipe Massa.

As for Michael Schumacher, the German was tenth quickest while Lotus, Virgin and Hispania followed their pre-season programme of slow, slower and not even pitching up.

Report: The 2010 Formula One season got underway in Bahrain on Friday morning with sweltering track conditions awaiting the drivers as they tackled the new Sakhir layout for the first time.

Lotus, Toro Rosso, Force India and Red Bull were the first teams to complete their installation laps while photogs waited patiently for the returning Michael Schumacher to venture out for his first lap. While their rivals pitted after their system checks, Hispania Racing, who have yet to complete a single lap, worked furiously to prepare their cars for Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok.

Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen completed the first timed lap of the new season, crossing the line with a 2:07.702 in his T127. The Finn continued lapping, shaving seconds off his time, while his team-mate Jarno Trulli joined the action. The Italian, though, struggled to keep his car on track, running wide on two occasions on his way to a 2:19.

With Trulli pitting, Lewis Hamilton headed out for what one expects should be the first indication of a competitive lap time at the Sakhir track. A 1:57.759 as the McLaren driver easily went quickest with his new team-mate Jenson Button slotting in behind him.

More drivers ventured out to set times with Felipe Massa third ahead of Robert Kubica, Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Tonio Liuzzi, Mark Webber and Vitaly Petrov.

Button overhauled Hamilton for the P1 slot, 0.095s up on his team-mate, Roberg moved up to third with Fernando Alonso going seventh quickest on his first run for Ferrari. Massa and Kubica both improved while an interesting tussle down the start-finish straight saw Ferrari appearing to have a major speed advantage to the Mercedes GP car.

That straight-line speed saw Alonso leap to the top of the timesheets with a 1:56.909 where he was soon joined by his team-mate Massa making it an all-Ferrari and McLaren battle for the top four slots.
With half an hour left on the clock, the F1 paddock still waited for a lap time from both Virgin and Hispania Racing. The latter had yet to even put a wheel on track while Virgin had three laps under their belts. Not a great start for these two rookie teams.

Adrian Sutil put in a blistering lap in his Force India, taking fourth off Hamilton while his team-mate Tonio Liuzzi went sixth quickest. However, the German then went even quicker, clocking a 1:56.888 to go top of the timesheets.

Behind the Force India, Ferrari and McLaren tussle, Mercedes GP, Renault and Toro Rosso were next in line with Rosberg ahead of Kubica, Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari.

The final ten minutes saw Timo Glock venture out to complete a time in his VR01 but it was quickly apparent that his car was lacking in pace, holding up both a Red Bull and a Sauber. But once in clear air, Vettel in his Red Bull easily pulled away from Glock, so it came as no surprise when the German crossed the line with a 2:07.051, some ten seconds off the pace.

Kubica improved to third place, Mark Webber to ninth, but when the chequered flag fell, it was still Sutil in the P1 slot - and F1's newcomers are the very bottom of the timesheets.

Times:

1. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:56.583 18 laps
2. Alonso Ferrari 1:56.766 + 0.183 18 laps
3. Kubica Renault 1:57.041 + 0.458 19 laps
4. Massa Ferrari 1:57.055 + 0.472 19 laps
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:57.068 + 0.485 19 laps
6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:57.163 + 0.580 19 laps
7. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:57.194 + 0.611 19 laps
8. Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:57.199 + 0.616 15 laps
9. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:57.255 + 0.672 17 laps
10. Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:57.662 + 1.079 16 laps
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:57.722 + 1.139 18 laps
12. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:57.894 + 1.311 20 laps
13. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:57.943 + 1.360 17 laps
14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:58.399 + 1.816 13 laps
15. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:58.782 + 2.199 11 laps
16. Petrov Renault 1:58.880 + 2.297 13 laps
17. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 2:00.250 + 3.667
18 laps18. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2:01.388 + 4.805 11 laps
19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2:03.680 + 7.097 8 laps
20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 2:03.848 + 7.265
21 laps21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 2:03.970 + 7.387 15 laps
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 3 laps
24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth

Source: Planet-F1