Force India was a force to be reckoned with in the latter half of the 2009 season, and particularly at the Belgian Grand Prix where Giancarlo Fisichella started from pole position and finished second, and at the Italian Grand Prix, where Adrian Sutil qualified second and finished fourth. The aim of the team is to take that momentum into the 2010 season. “Towards the end of the season the performance was markedly better than at the beginning of the season,” said team CEO Otmar Szafnauer. “We'll try to stay on that glide path, understand how that happened and the reasons for it, continue to exploit those efficiencies and benefits, and also enhance the places where we were less competitive. Those were the goals and objectives over the winter, and we will soon find out how we perform relative to the others.” What are the team’s goals for 2010? “We want to be regular points scorers this year,” Szafnauer said, “and also challenge for podiums when we're in a position to do so. Some podium finishes for sure, but let's be in the points regularly. If we can do that, we'll have a successful year. It's very much dependent on how competitive we are relative to the others. We're quietly confident, the numbers look good, but we'll soon know.” Design director Mark Smith said the team worked hard during the offseason to increase the car’s aerodynamic downforce. “We did have a car that was very low drag, comparatively, so we have focused a little bit of attention on trying to look at the circuits outside of the two or three that were very good to us, to try and have a more balanced approach,” he said.Adrian Sutil faces the season with confidence. “My personal aim, and that of the team, is to be competitive for the first race and keep that up, and carry it through the season,” he said. For sure I want to be where we ended up last year. Close to the podium would be amazing. But I think top ten, points hopefully every race, would be a good step for us. At the moment it's too early to say anything clear because I don't know the car's performance.” After he drove for Force India in five races last year, Tonio Liuzzi has been promoted from test driver to fulltime race driver this year. “I suffered when I was in the test seat because I had already done two years of racing, so it has been difficult,” he said. “But it made me more mature for this comeback. I did five races last year and now I think I'm ready for a strong 2010 together with Force India. We are all looking forward to this season.”
Force India press conference with drivers Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi, test driver Paul di Resta, and design director Mark Smith and CEO Otmar Szafnauer.
Q. Adrian, last year was a breakthrough for Force India. What would you say the turning point was?
Adrian Sutil: The turning point in 2009 was definitely Belgium. We'd already done some good updates during the season - like at Silverstone - but the biggest one was Belgium, and Monza especially for me.
e didn't expect such a change - we suddenly raced for the victory. But it was one of those circuits that suited us really well and everything came together. But also the last few races of the season were also quite good and in qualifying we were quite successful. So that was the turning point, and now it's important to do a good season.
