Force India Abu Dhabi GP qualifying report
Force India press release
Sahara Force India delivered on the promise shown in practice as Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta qualified in ninth and tenth places respectively for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Adrian Sutil
Adrian: “I’m happy with ninth place today and it was a good session for me. In Q3 we waited a bit longer than planned because we wanted to wait and see what Mercedes did. In the end they decided to go out so I also went out and I did a timed lap. The lap was a little bit compromised because I didn’t get the tyres fully up to temperature, so maybe I could have been a bit higher up. Still, I don’t think we can complain too much because P9 is a fair reflection of our pace at the moment.”
Paul Di Resta)
Paul: “Getting two cars in the top ten was the objective today and that’s what we achieved. We made some good progress this morning perfecting the set-up and I was happy with the car in qualifying. Q1 and Q2 went well and we got the job done by getting in the top ten.
Our approach to Q3 was to give us the optimum strategy for tomorrow. For the race we are definitely hoping for points because our focus is to maintain our sixth place in the championship. I’m really looking forward to this race because the place looks spectacular at night. It’s also nice to drive in twilight conditions when it’s a bit cooler.”
As I’ve said before you never know until it’s in the bag
Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director
“I’m very pleased with our performance today and with both Sahara Force India cars starting from the fifth row of the grid we are in good shape for tomorrow. It will be an interesting race because we have seen that the tyre degradation here is not that severe, which means we need to think long and hard about how we will use the strategy.
With just two races to go we are not underestimating how important it is to score points here to strengthen our grasp on sixth place in the constructors’ championship. I believe we have the speed to do so, but as I’ve said before you never know until it’s in the bag.”
P9 Adrian Sutil (VJM04/04)
Q1: 1:40.595
Q2: 1:40.205
Q3: 1:40.768
P10 Paul Di Resta (VJM04/02)
Q1: 1:41.604
Q2: 1:40.414
Q3: No time
Share Or Save This Story
When Paul Di Resta beat Sebastian Vettel to the F3 title
Paul Di Resta cautious about the WEC's future: "What's good never lasts forever"
Why Peugeot swapped Jean-Eric Vergne for Stoffel Vandoorne in WEC 2026
Mercedes could opt for Kimi Antonelli to take F1 engine penalty at Italian GP
Audi emerges as possible 2028 destination for George Russell, says Guenther Steiner
The shocking aspect to Kimi Antonelli's rapid F1 title-contending transformation
Racing Bulls boss’ advice to his F1 drivers: Learn from Max Verstappen’s radio
You Ask The Questions: Esteban Ocon
Carlos Sainz reveals Le Mans ambition for life after F1
WRC Finland: Elfyn Evans rolls out of victory fight with Sebastien Ogier
You Ask The Questions: Esteban Ocon
Top 10 McLaren F1 cars ranked: MCL39, M23, MP4/4 and more
Why progress 'won't satisfy' Red Bull until it can give Max Verstappen a winning car
Why the Hungarian GP was what every F1 race in 2026 should have been
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments