2015 Austrian Grand Prix Force India Review
It’s been a tough start for the Force India F1 team who are still pinning their hopes on their B-spec car, which should come in at the next round in Silverstone. Nevertheless, the solid German-Mexican driver pairing has ensured some decent results. Qualifying turned out to be quite a mixed bag for both the drivers but the day started off for the Indo-British team quite optimistically.
No. 27 Nico Hülkenburg
Form: 7/14/R/13/15/11/8/6
Having qualified a spectacular fifth, it’s clear that winning Le Mans did ‘The Hulk’ no harm at all. He made a good start and maintained his position. However, his battles would come a little bit later after the safety car debacle. Valtteri Bottas was his main rival all race long. He put up a sterling defensive effort, but it was just not enough to keep the charging Finn behind. However, Force India’s undercut strategy elevated Nico back ahead of Bottas after a scrappy in and out lap for the Williams driver. Hulkenburg couldn’t quite hold Bottas back, but still had a solid drive home to sixth.
No. 11 Sergio Pérez
Form: 10/13/11/8/13/7/11/9
Perez on the other hand suffered a poor qualifying, ending up 16th. However, thanks to penalties to other drivers he started 13th. At the start of the race, Danill Kvyat punted Perez’ rear. However, the Red Bull driver received most of the pain. Perez had some great scraps with the Lotus duo of Grosjean and Maldonado. The Mexican kept Grosjean behind for a long time until the Frenchman was eventually forced to pit. Then it was the turn of Maldonado who, after a few laps behind the Force India, managed to get past. Perez finished the day with two points in the bag.
It was a solid day for the Force India team, with much expected from their new car in the coming weeks. A double-points finish for the team this weekend will give them the boost they need to go forward with excellent defensive driving from both drivers.
