Force India

Paul di Resta’s sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix may just have been enough to persuade employer’s Force India to give him one more season to prove his worth.

It is not too much of an understatement to say that going into Sunday’s race, the Scot was under enormous pressure to deliver the goods with his Formula One career on the line.

But deliver he did,  and there were signs that he may be rediscovering some of his form of old as he held off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in the closing laps to secure valuable points for his team in the battle for sixth place in the constructors’ standings.

After the race, Di Resta told Sky Sports that he feels he has done enough to merit another season with the team.

I've always said I would like to stay with the team - I would like to stay in F1 more importantly - but if they give me the tools I can deliver. I will be expecting a decision very soon from the senior management, but I will keep focusing on the races and let the management team do the business in the background.

I managed the tyres when I had to, delivered when I had to, but I think more importantly staying ahead of a Mercedes and fighting a Ferrari - what more could you ask for? We finished off the job we should have done in Singapore on tyre wear and hopefully we can take this momentum to Texas.

Di Resta is saying all the right things at the right time, but one swallow does not make a summer; the Scot has endured a turbulent season that saw him clash with the team in Canada.

Having started 17th on the grid due to gearbox software issues, Di Resta labelled his team’s performances as “not acceptable” in an interview with BBC Sport.

A strong drive through the field to seventh helped to rebuild the bridges, as did another to ninth from the back of the grid at Silverstone. But then followed a disastrous run of seven races without a points finish that left the Scot fearing for his F1 career.

Di Resta has redressed the balance over the last two races, and there are other factors that may just swing the balance his way before Force India reaches a decision at the end of the season.

Nico Hulkenberg looked to be Di Resta’s biggest threat as a potential replacement, but now that Lotus appear to have finalised an investment deal with Quantum motorsports, the German looks set to join Lotus rather than go back to his former employers.

And although Di Resta has his critics, a glance at the drivers’ standings sees him nine points ahead of Hulkenberg, 13 ahead of Sergio Perez and a telling 19 ahead of teammate Sutil.

We must not also forget that team boss Vijay Mallya is known for his loyalty and stuck with Sutil after he missed last season due to his conviction for causing grievous bodily harm to Lotus shareholder Eric Lux.

At least one more strong points-scoring drive should be enough to convince Force India that he has done enough to merit another crack of the whip.

Adrian Sutil is a controversial character to put it mildly. He spent a year away from the Formula 1 circus having been convicted of grievous bodily harm after a nightclub altercation with Lotus F1 shareholder Eric Lux. Sutil also recently told ESPN via GP Week that he had lost respect for Lewis Hamilton on a personal level.

But whatever you may think about the German as a person, he has proven on a couple of occasions in the first half of this season that he has lost none of his competitive sharpness behind the wheel. Team boss Vijay Mallya knows this only too well, and it’s why he re-hired Sutil on merit and not the finance he brings to the team.

Sutil showed no signs of ring rust in Australia and actually led the grand prix on his medium compound tyre as those in front of him shod their starting supersoft tyres. And his decision to start on the mediums paid off with a seventh-place finish. After all the troubles that had gone before, Sutil was naturally a happy man in his team’s post-race press release.

What a fantastic race and a great feeling. I started on the medium tyres, a different strategy to most of the cars ahead of me, and I think this was the right decision. The pace was quick and the car felt very good on the medium tyres so I was able to keep up with the guys in front of me, who I knew were going to pit early. It was not long until I was leading the race - my first time leading in Formula One. After my second pit stop I was back in the lead once again, so I knew that it was possible to come away with a great result. This result for the team is a perfect way to start the season and I want to say a big 'thank you' to the team once again.

Buoyed by his Australian performance, Sutil qualified an encouraging seventh in Malaysia and was running well until an issue with the captive wheel nut system during the pit stops resulted in the retirements of both cars on safety grounds.

Next came a first real disappointment in China as rookie Esteban Gutierrez punted him up the rear and into retirement only five laps in, ending the team’s hopes of a double-points finish. And Bahrain again offered much, Sutil qualifying an impressive sixth before contact with Felipe Massa’s Ferrari into Turn 4 resulted in a puncture that compromised his race, teammate Paul di Resta’s fourth-place finish showing what could have been.

Spain was another race to forget as Sutil as another wheel-nut issue during his first pit stop cost him considerable time, but the German was much stronger than di Resta in Monaco, overtaking both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso en route to a superb fifth from his grid slot of seventh. As with Australia, Sutil was not slow to hide his delight in his team’s press release.

Fifth place feels fantastic. It's just the result we needed and I'm very happy right now. The car felt very good and we made the most of the chances that came our way. I noticed that the hairpin was an area where there was a chance to overtake so I tried it with Jenson and it worked. Then I did the same with Fernando and it worked once again. So I think I showed that overtaking is possible in Monaco. The team did an excellent job all weekend and we definitely deserved this result today.

Another point followed in Canada before Sutil enjoyed another strong showing at Silverstone, qualifying sixth and steering clear of the dramas around him to finish seventh. It must have been somewhat of a disappointment, then, to have been so off the pace at his home race in Germany before retiring in Hungary with a hydraulics issue.

But it’s clear that Force India have a competitive car in 2013, and, but for a few unfortunate incidents for both Sutil and di Resta, more points would certainly have been bagged.

Adrian’s Midseason Marks

Temperament: 6/10

Qualifying: 7/10

Race craft: 7/10

Summary: Unnecessary comments about Lewis Hamilton aside, I’ve been impressed with Sutil’s showing so far after some troubling times. I expect another close tussle with his teammate in the second half of the season.

Make no mistake about it, 2013 is a massive season for Scotsman Paul di Resta as he enters his third full season as a Formula One driver.

Di Resta made a massive impression in his debut season alongside Adrian Sutil, finishing in the points on eight separate occasions. It led David Coulthard to tip his countryman to become one of the top drivers in the sport in an interview with The Sun (subscription required).

But as Sutil was forced to miss the season after a conviction for causing grievous bodily harm to Lotus shareholder Eric Lux, Di Resta was expected to carry the mantle in 2012. New teammate Nico Hulkenberg refused to read the script, however, and outpointed Di Resta before moving onto Sauber.

So here we are, Di Resta and Sutil reunited for 2013. And the pressure is on with Sutil just 13 points behind and Di Resta telling Sky Sports the car was the worst it had felt all year after Hungary qualifying.

Sutil laid down the challenge in Australia when he led a Grand Prix for the first time before finishing a place ahead of Di Resta in seventh. It was a good start for both drivers, but it quickly turned into a catastrophe in Malaysia after the German followed Di Resta into retirement as a precaution due to problems with the captive wheel nut system.

Di Resta enjoyed the stronger race in China, fighting his way from 11th to eighth by the finish as Esteban Gutierrez punted Sutil out of the race, but his standout drive of the season came in Bahrain when he looked set for a first podium until Romain Grosjean hunted him down on fresher tyres to pass with just five laps remaining.

Afterward, the Scot told BBC Sport that it had been his best ever race:

That was probably my strongest Grand Prix.

The podium was very close, but with our strategy we were always going to be vulnerable, especially to Grosjean who had two new sets of medium tyres.

I had a good start to the race, a strong opening stint and we showed our true speed today, but ultimately fourth place was the maximum that was possible.

We will get on the podium one day, hopefully soon, but for now we can be very happy with the points we've scored today.

Di Resta backed up his strong Bahrain outing with seventh in Spain and was tucked up behind pole-sitter Nico Rosberg’s gearbox at the finish, with less than a second separating the scrapping pair. But things were about to take a turn for the worse.

Qualifying quandaries

A disastrous qualifying in Monaco saw Di Resta line up 17th on the grid, but he was aided by a number of retirements to again make it into the points albeit four places behind his teammate. It would be a sign of things to come.

A third seventh-place finish in Canada was all the more impressive given that he again started at 17th on the grid due to gearbox software issues during qualifying before carving his way through the field. Relationships had been strained between the Scot and his team on Saturday when he blamed his team’s performance as "unacceptable" in an interview with BBC Sport. But a day later a somewhat calmer Di Resta told the same broadcaster that his strong race had helped to build bridges.

It was taken constructively. Everybody in the team felt the same.

But we regrouped, showed we can do it and, as far as my relationship with the team is concerned, it's still good.

The person who made the mistake apologised and I'm fully supportive of that. It's just unfortunate it happened two weeks in a row, which is where the anger was.

Looking back, I don't think I was too harsh. When you work with the team so closely, it's good to have that heat because you need to show your emotion.

If I'd twice made a mistake, I'd be kicking myself and the team would come down hard on me - and rightly so.

Unbelievably, lightning struck for the third race in succession during qualifying for his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. Di Resta had expressed himself as “over the moon” in his now familiar post-session interview with BBC Sport having qualified fifth before being excluded for having an underweight car.

This time the Scot vented his fury on the race track, carving his way through to seventh.

It would be his final points finish of the first half of the season, 11th- and 18th-place finishes in Germany and Hungary leaving him 10th in the drivers’ standings, three behind McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Paul’s midseason marks

Temperament: 6/10

Qualifying: 6/10

Race craft: 8/10

Summary: Spectacularly lost his cool with his team in Canada and but for three qualifying horror shows he could have been much higher up the table. Strong race showings in adversity have shown exactly what a good racer he is.

An F1 neutral would have been taken aback but not fully surprised at the possibility of Narain Karthikeyan gaining the second seat at Force India. 

As a driver he is not accomplished and does not appear to have the talent and speed that is required to succeed at motorsports' highest level. The one thing he does have, however, is a healthy financial backing. It has been speculated that this may be what sways Vijay Mallya's decision.

You only have to look at what happened to the under rated Timo Glock at Marussia to recognise the possibility. Glock could not bring the necessary funds to sustain a drive, meaning his contract was cut short, and he is now without a seat for 2013. 

It seemed a ridiculous decision to let a respected and experienced driver go, but in the current economical climate it was just another instance of monetary value subverting substance and style. 

Force India did vocalise opposition to this idea. They wanted to take talent over the pay driver option. They see money being made from the output in the long term rather than the short-term input.

Therefore, speculation over Karthikeyan's opportunity for the drive seemed to contradict this expressed point of view.

Maybe it was just the Indian driver feeling optimistic about turning a reserve drive option into a first-team one, through his financial incentive. 

The other candidates that had been previously reported were former Force India driver Adrian Sutil, and their 2012 reserve man Jules Bianchi. 

In preseason testing in Jerez, Bianchi showed promising pace, laying down a good marker for anyone else who tests for the role.

Now news emerges that Sutil has had a seat fitting with Force India, suggesting he may be put forward for the next testing period in Barcelona. This would provide an opportunity for the German to show his potential and see if he still has what it takes to perform.

Narain Karthikeyan has yet to be afforded this opportunity. 

Such news is positive from a neutral perspective, as it illustrates what Formula 1 should be all about; the competition and the ability to be able to compete. 

You never know, Sutil could fall flat on his face. He has not driven in anything worthy of note in his year out of the sport.

Yet his consistency and improved performance towards the back end of his time at Force India demonstrated what he is capable of. At this point he was outscoring and outperforming his now established teammate Paul Di Resta. 

You can't help but feel that Sutil still has the potential to develop, as does Bianchi. Through this development the team can progress. Their aim for fifth in the constructors' title can be realised if they have two drivers chosen on skill, who can achieve consistent points scoring results. 

What are the chances that Bernie Ecclestone will come to his senses and give the order to pack up the Bahrain Grand Prix and go home?

After spending the last two weeks telling anyone who would listen that there’s nothing going on in Bahrain and that the teams have nothing to worry about, we have the terrible situation of four members of the Force India team getting caught up in protests and exposed to Molotov cocktails.

As recently as last weekend, Ecclestone said to the Mirror.co.uk that, ““All the teams are happy to be there. There’s nothing happening. I know people who live there and it’s all very quiet and peaceful.”

And he did it while being burnt in effigy by protestors.

The political situation in Bahrain is too complex for a simplistic apportioning of blame and allocation of “right” or “wrong” to any of the parties involved. But, we don’t need to know who’s to blame to decide whether or not a Formula One Grand Prix should be taking place in that country.

F1 loudly and proudly proclaims its neutrality and labels itself apolitical.

ESPN quotes FIA President, Jean Todt, telling German RTL television, "It has a date on the calendar and was always planned. There has been some controversy about it, but the FIA is a sports organisation. We are only interested in sport -- not politics.”

And Todt is absolutely correct.

The problem is that the government of Bahrain and the protesters are not.

The government, which has been issuing promises of safety needs F1 so that they can show the world that everything is wonderful, the troubles are over and it’s business as usual.

The protesters, on the other hand, need F1 to get their protest message to the world. They will go to great lengths to attract the attention of the visiting media as the Force India team members can attest.

Even though the team members were not directly targeted and were unfortunate victims of circumstance, the incident has attracted significant media exposure and that won’t go unnoticed.

So, instead of helping normalize life in Bahrain, the race is actually fomenting more drama and violence.

The protesters have made it very clear that they will be targeting the race and earlier this week targeted a cultural event being held to promote the race. The attack ended with police using stun grenades.

F1 is no stranger to racing in places with questionable human rights records. There are races happening in China and races were held in South Africa during apartheid.

Bahrain is different in that the protests are immediate and are proving to be a direct threat teams. That is unforgivable.

Cracks are starting to appear in the veneer of agreement from the teams.

Force India’s drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta have, understandably, started to voice their concerns according to The F1 Times. Two of the Force India team members who were caught up in the violence have been allowed to return to England. They join a member of the Williams catering team who resigned on moral grounds over racing in the kingdom.

At this late stage, it is difficult to imagine that the race won’t proceed as planned. The teams are contractually obliged to race, but at some point the risk will exceed the potential financial penalties that may be incurred.

The only question is when that will be.

Despite the decision being promised by Vijay Mallya over a month ago, Force India finally announced today that Paul Di Resta will be joined by former Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg for the 2012 season.

In a move that leaves Adrian Sutil without a current drive, it echoes the recent revelations at Toro Rosso where experience has been overlooked in favour of "new" talent.

In many ways you can understand the decision. Hulkenberg progressed nicely in his season at Williams, gaining a shock pole position in the process and giving a better impression of himself than his own replacement Pastor Maldonado. 

Teams will always seek to move with the times and acquire the best young talent there is to offer. 
Yet at the same time in Adrian Sutil, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari you have three drivers each at a peak of their career, now without the competitive drive they deserve for the 2012 season.

Sutil ended 2011 with a superb run of form that saw him finally break into the Top 10 in the drivers championship. Buemi and Alguersuari drove their Toro Rosso cars beautifully to gain a record haul of points for the feeder team to Red Bull. 

For Sutil he may seek solace in a move to Hulkenberg's former team Williams. But is this a step back for a driver who many have proclaimed deserves a better car?

For Buemi and Alguersuari the future looks bleak. With only a second seat at HRT to fight it looks likely they will be relegated to a test driver role or a transfer to an alternative formula. 

Outcomes like this make you judge the decisions more harshly when other teams insist upon keeping the likes of Maldonado and an outgoing and floundering Jarno Trulli. 

Also brought into the mix you have the Renault fallout boys Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, with especially the first two being stronger than certain drivers within the field. 

Obviously, at the end of the day Formula 1 is a cutthroat sport. To stay in it sometimes you literally need to be the best to survive. It is those drivers who are on the cusp and without massive financial backing who pay the price for their inability to break records. 

Long ago, Formula One teams raced in their national colours.  The Ferraris and Alfa Romeos were Italian red, the BRMs and Vanwalls British racing green, and the Mercedes and Auto Unions German silver.

They were teams which carried the hopes of nations, which the population could get behind and easily recognise as one of their own.

The sponsorship era mostly ended the custom of cars painted in national colours, and over time the idea of a team the whole country would support faded away with few exceptions.

The nationality of the team meant little unless the team entered red cars.  Few fans truly cared that Sauber were Swiss, Williams were British, and Jordan were Irish.

Until just recently, that is.  Entrants now carry the flags of "non-traditional" F1 nations, making the sport relevant in places it never was before.  And though the cars are probably made in Britain, these teams are making a big deal out of their national connections.

Force India carries the name—and flag colours—of a country with over a billion people.  US F1 briefly appeared and collapsed without starting a single race, but the intent to promote American technology and drivers was there.

Hispania wishes to become "progressively more Spanish" and Lotus/Caterham is referred to by the Malaysian government as "1Malaysia F1 Team". 

Elsewhere, Andrey Cheglakov, the man providing much of the funding for the Marussia project—road cars and racing—says, "The launch of our car is very much like the launch of the first Russian sputnik."

For those who lack astronomical interest, Sputnik 1 was the first satellite in space and winner of the first leg of the "Space Race"—a huge Russian (or more accurately Soviet) achievement.

Such focus on the nationality of a team hasn't been seen for many years.  And I can only see the trend continuing.

An explosion of investment into F1 by these non-traditional sporting economies—countries which want to put themselves on the international sporting map and see F1 as the ideal solution—has seen the calendar change dramatically. 

If you told an F1 fan in 1995 there would be races in Qatar, South Korea, the UAE, Bahrain and Singapore by 2011, they probably wouldn't have believed you.

But it happened.  So why stop at hosting a race?

Russia, the Middle East and South East Asia have bred a new class of super-rich. Russian billionaires, ruling families of Gulf states, Indian industrialists, the Chinese government. There are many men out there like Tony Fernandes and Vijay Mallya who recognise what F1 could do.

The ordinary people are seeing benefits too.  Booming economies such as China and India are developing an ever-expanding middle class of people with disposable incomes and the opportunity to taste a lifestyle which, 20 years ago, was reserved solely for the rich.

New teams forming in those regions can tap into that potentially huge, undeveloped market.  And that market exists—the swelling of national pride and interest at the grassroots level is impossible to ignore.

The words "Force India" are entered on Google by Indians twice as often as by the rest of the world combined.  Malaysia by far leads the way for "Lotus F1", as well as Russia for "Marussia F1".  Traditionally strong countries for F1?  Not at all. 

Even Spain, which only really woke up to F1 when Fernando Alonso arrived, leads the way for "Hispania F1".

A proudly-American team which the public can connect to and identify with could be the key to unlocking the vast US market.  And it'll take more than just a race to truly ignite Chinese passion for F1. 

Domestic sponsors will want to be associated with the new trailblazing team. The benefits will knock on to other connected business interests.

Then we must, of course, factor in the substantial merchandise sales a local team would enjoy.

And we can't ignore the 'external' benefits to less-established economies, such as a greater international profile for the country itself.  Worldwide exposure could mean rising export opportunities, a huge boost for tourism, and more international investment.

Show the world you're a strong, stable, technologically capable nation and the world will come to you. What better way than through the globe's top racing series?

India, Malaysia and Russia now have what you could call 'national teams' with strong and proud connections to their homeland.  Spain looks to be getting there too. And Italy has had one for years.

Within the next decade don't be surprised if China, the USA, and at least one Gulf state join that list.