Force India has not returned empty-handed from any of the first three races this season and drivers Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi expect the trend to continue when they hit the state-of-the-art Shanghai International Circuit for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Sutil, who picked up his first points finish of the year in Malaysia with a fighting fifth place, is particularly optimistic because he feels the Shanghai layout suits the VJM03 to a tee.
“The race in China will be a bit different but there are some similarities to Malaysia as well. The circuit layout is different, of course, but you need a good top speed, which we have, and you need a little bit of downforce for the mid sector, for the slow corners so I think it should suit our car really well,” Sutil said.
After the sweltering heat in Malaysia, Sutil is looking forward to relatively cooler climes in Shanghai and the German expects both the Force India cars to do well, especially because of the long straights there.
“It was encouraging in Malaysia, and also the last races in Bahrain and Australia. I think we can show a very similar performance in China. Temperatures will be a bit cooler, but there is a long straight and you need to be very fast on that, and that’s what our car can do.
“It has also the downforce required for the slow speed corners. My feeling is that we can perform well again in Shanghai,” elaborated the youngster.
Liuzzi, who won points both in Bahrain and Australia before an engine failure marred his outing in Malaysia, said there was no reason why the team cannot stretch its point-scoring streak.
“I have been in the simulator and we are pushing to bring updates to China as we want to be ready to score points again and not let our momentum slip,” he said.
“For sure it’s one of the circuits that I like, and I’ve always had good results there. In fact my best result in F1 was at that circuit — in 2007 Sebastian Vettel and myself finished fourth and sixth for Toro Rosso,” he said.
“It’s got a flow as a circuit and there are some technical corners, and it’s always a crazy race because there can be some different weather conditions. So overall I’m looking forward to it. More points are the aim and we can do it, for sure,” said the Italian.
