Formula 1
Force India Australian GP - Melbourne race report
Force India press release
Published: Mar 18, 2012, 9:16 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sahara Force India picked up a point in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Paul Di Resta grabbed the final point in a dramatic last corner squabble. Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was an innocent victim of the first lap carnage as he was hit from behind, which damaged the rear suspension and led to an early retirement.
Paul di Resta, Sahara Force India Formula One Team
Photo by: xpb.cc
Paul Di Resta (P10)
Tyre strategy: Soft / Soft / Medium
Paul: “It’s always nice to start the season with a point, but it was not looking too promising until the last few laps when my engineer told me that I was catching the cars ahead of me. Fortunately I had saved quite a bit of KERS for the last corner, which helped me get a good run on Vergne and beat him to the line for tenth. So it was a pretty exciting final lap. It’s a good way to start the season, but it’s clear we have a lot of work to do because we were struggling for pace at the start of each stint, which hurt my overall race pace. Even so, considering where I started and the weekend we’ve had, I don’t think I can be disappointed to have come away with a point.”
Nico Hulkenberg (DNF)
Tyre strategy: Soft
Nico Hulkenberg, Sahara Force India Formula One Team and Jean-Eric Vergne, Scuderia Toro Rosso
Photo by: xpb.cc
Nico: “I don’t seem to have much luck at Albert Park. My first race here in 2010 was less than a lap and today was a repeat of that. I’m still not really sure what happened, but I got hit when I turned into the first corner on lap one.
It’s such a shame because I had made a great start, moved up a couple of positions and then I just felt somebody tap me from behind. There was a puncture and the suspension was damaged so my race was over and I had to park up. These things happen when 22 cars are battling going into a tight first corner, but it’s really frustrating to miss out after such a good qualifying session. The good thing is that I will be back in the car in five days’ time, which is the best way to bounce back and get over the disappointment.”
Today’s race was likely to be full of drama
Robert Fernley
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“We always felt that today’s race was likely to be full of drama and it didn’t disappoint – particularly the closing lap of the race when Paul did an excellent job to grab the final point in the dash to the line. He drove a very clean race, stayed out of trouble and made the most of the strategy, but ultimately he struggled for absolute pace over the duration of the stints, which is something we need to address.
As for Nico, he was simply the innocent victim of the turn one chaos. He got hit quite hard from behind going into turn one, which caused some serious damage to the left rear suspension and he immediately came on the radio to say that he needed to park the car. We have to take this on the chin because it’s part of racing, but it’s disappointing for Nico who needs all the race miles he can get at the moment. Still, he’s shown what he is capable of and he can be proud of the job he has done this weekend.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Caterham Australian GP - Melbourne race report
Next article Sauber Australian GP - Melbourne race report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Paul di Resta
When Paul Di Resta beat Sebastian Vettel to the F3 title
F3
F3
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"
WEC
WEC
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
WEC
WEC
Bahrain
Why Peugeot swapped Jean-Eric Vergne for Stoffel Vandoorne in WEC 2026
More from
Force India
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Formula 1
Formula 1
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Formula 1
Formula 1
Austrian GP
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
7 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
8 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
8 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe