Vijay Mallya and Vitantonio Liuzzi chatted with us after the Bahrain GP and they shared their excitement on scoring points in the first race of the season.
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orce India has several things to cheer about; starting the season with a points-finish is but one of them. Born out of the ruins of the erstwhile Spyker F1 team, the Mallya-led outfit has come up the ranks making remarkably steady progress along the way. Somehow, the liquor baron team boss has managed to deliver all that he has promised. From points to a podium and from a competitive car to consistency, the team is delivering it all. But Mallya and his drivers insist that this is only the beginning. We chatted with the Indian team boss and his Italian racer after the Bahrain GP on Sunday. Here is a transcript from the teleconference...
Mallya:
I’m very pleased for many reasons today. We scored points in the opening GP, Sutil clocked the second fastest lap of the race, just behind Alonso, ‘Tonio drove brilliantly and both cars finished the race. So we have established our reliability as well. Adrian was unlucky, Webber’s car blew up in smoke going in to turn 1 and both Adrian and Kubica slid off after a spin. He dropped down to the back of the grid but did well to finish 12th. I think all in all we can be very, very proud of what we have achieved in the beginning of the season. We have made significant steps forward from last year and for a team that has raced for just two years (as Force India), we are justifiably proud of our project. Normally it takes several years to reach this stage and we have already done it in two seasons! So we have to enjoy the moment!
Liuzzi:
I feel really good. We achieved the exact target that we set out with in the first race, to show that we can be competitive and to consistently be in the points. This was a great beginning. I’m sure we will fight hard to get better during the season. It was a shame for Adrian because he could’ve finished in the points but we will come back in Australia!
How difficult is it racing without refuelling? How is it affecting race strategy and racing itself this season?
Liuzzi:
It is a really good thing. We have shown in Bahrain that we were really good with strategy as we showed really good pace at the end. It is a bit of a tough choice to pick the right tyres. It is much more challenging for the driver and team to make the right decisions, as they have to think of a lot of permutations and combinations.
Mallya: It is challenging to start the race with a completely full tank and cars have never been heavier before and the heavier the car, the more the impact on the tyres. This is the first time that F1 cars are racing with such heavy fuel loads. So it is a learning experience for everyone. One thing that we can be particularly proud of is Force India’s tyre degradation which was the lowest. This helped the drivers to preserve the tyres which influenced the result as well.
How did the car handle today?
Liuzzi:
It has been a really great step forward for us. We have shown that all our winter testing has been fruitful and that the 2010 car is a step forward from the last year. The team put in a lot of effort during the winter, we promised that we would be faster and we have achieved a good result. Now we have to continue developing because we are close to the manufacturer teams (the top four) and with a little bit of effort we can get even closer.
The conditions during the weekend have not been easy, it was really hot out there but the car responded really well. I think that it will be a bit easier in Australia because it shouldn’t be that hot there but we do have a little update that would bring us even closer to the teams ahead of us. So that makes us really look forward to Australia.
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With the tank full of fuel does the stability and balance of the car get affected?
Liuzzi:
Yes, it does! From the beginning of the race to the end you have to change your driving style and preserve your tyres as it could be really critical if you have one stop more during the race. We detected a lot of understeer in the first stint and had a neutral and good car in the second stint. But from the driver’s point of view the car reacted very well but we have to change our driving style a lot to try and save the tyres and prevent any degradation in the front and rear. The driver has to think a lot more and do more than just drive flat out. That is a really important thing this year that you have to work around.
Mallya:
The drivers have to be far more alert and on-the-ball to drive and handle the car under different conditions. As the fuel quantity changes, the handling of the car also changes. As far as I am concerned, the rule applies to everybody so it is an equal challenge for everyone. Force India has met this challenge successfully and our race pace is really good despite the high fuel load and at varying fuels loads we have demonstrated that our pace is as quick as the other manufacturing teams.
What do you attribute the strong performance to?
Mallya:
When we bought the team in 2007 I had said that 2008 was a write-off. We had inherited the Spyker car and it wasn’t a true Force India effort. We then made a lot of changes to the management and technical team for a complete overhaul in 2008. Last year my objective was to score some points. We did score 13 points. I had also said that in 2010 that we should score regular points and even target a couple of podiums and we look to be well on track scoring points in the very first race. In 2011 when India hosts a race, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be on the podium. So, my plans for the team are on track and with one of the smallest budgets in F1 and a highly committed team, we are producing the results. Our race pace is as good as Mercedes and McLaren so we have proved the point that money cannot buy performance!
What are the major differences in the car from last year to this year?
Liuzzi:
A lot of effort has gone in. As we say in Italy ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. We showed in the race that the team is working really hard. The car is completely different from last year. Such performances make us believe that we will become a consistent point-scorer but we still have to fight hard as the others are not sleeping!
Are you a little disappointed that Adrian missed out because he was in a good position to finish in points?
Mallya:
‘Tonio started 12th and finished 9th and Adrian started 10th so if his race had gone well he probably would have finished one place higher (perhaps two) but realistically speaking I don’t think we would’ve got past the Ferraris and Hamilton. In race pace we were as good as Schumacher, Webber and Button but we may have gotten ahead of them. But that is all hypothetical so we just graciously accept things the way they are and we are delighted with scoring points in our very first race.
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How was the new part of the circuit? Was it difficult and bumpy to race on?
Liuzzi:
It was different because it wasn’t one of my favourites and certainly not ours as a team either but the race was good because we did well. I don’t particularly like the new part of the track. It is too slow and it doesn’t allow overtaking and it feels a little bit slow on the track. For sure it is one area where we will suffer the most. We did struggle in this area of the track and that didn’t help us at all.