Adrian Sutil surprised in Jerez

Force India, the ninth team in the field to have revealed its car, took part in its first on-track tests in Jerez. Vijay Mallya’s team was reassured.

Published on 14/02/2010 à 12:50

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On Saturday, for the fourth day of testing at Jerez, Adrian Sutil was one of the fastest drivers on track. Author of the best time a few minutes from the end of the session, the Force India driver was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton (McLaren). But, for the German, the essential was elsewhere.

« We didn?t try to make a time, confides Sutil. We just wanted to try and get as much information as possible at this stage, before putting together next week's schedule. »

Beyond the stopwatch, Force India focused mainly on observing tire wear depending on the fuel load and over long passages on the track. “ At the end of the day we were able to put in a few good runs, focusing on gaining experience with the new tires. »

« With our settings, we were already quite good and the balance of the car was not that far off, continues Adrian Sutil. We also tried a few longer runs, and knowing how to save your tires seems to be key. So, we were able to set some good times during the first laps, then the tires deteriorated during the last laps. »

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