Adrian Sutil aims for top 10

Adrian Sutil begins his fourth season with Force India. Loyal to Vijay Mallya since the beginning of the adventure, the German hopes for a season at least as successful as the previous one, when he finished regularly in the top 10 and fought to the end with the drivers. Mercedes for 9th place in the championship. However, it does not claim to be much better. “ We are a small team and that is why we cannot keep up with the pace of development of Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. Then there is still Renault, Williams, Sauber and Toro Rosso fell. If I finished in the 10 then we could talk about a good season “, he told formula1.com.

Concerning the developments of the VJM04, his seniority in view of the little experience of his new teammate Paul Di Resta could make him responsible for development. A hypothesis that Sutil refutes. “ I would not have agreed to carry this work on my sole shoulders. Paul is an experienced driver with four seasons of DTM behind him, a title last year, and he was the test driver for Force India. You can be sure that he will also be quite capable of it. On the other hand, after four years in the team, I feel sufficiently ready to take on a leadership role. ».

During the latest tests in Barcelona, ​​the Indian team tested new elements, including the most important ones introduced this year. Like the SREC, provided by Mercedes as part of their technical collaboration. “ It worked very well and we had no problems. It gives a good boost. With the movable rear wing, you have the impression of benefiting from 100 horsepower more than once. It's cool ", Sutil told Auto Motor und Sport. Before listing the work provided in Spain. “ We improved certain points, particularly in terms of aerodynamics, we resolved some issues and also tested a new exhaust. All that remains is to bring everything together to have a clear idea of ​​our performance. We didn't run on low fuel, and I think the other teams did too. Except perhaps Massa who seemed lighter ».

The big unknown of the year concerns the new tires supplied by Pirelli. “ The one who understands how and when to extract the quintessence will occupy a good place in the ranking, he continues on the website of the F1. The difference between the different types of rubber is enormous and that is why we will have to see if two pit stops is the right solution. The problem is that due to the cancellation of testing and the Bahrain Grand Prix, we will not have any readings in the high heat and will therefore not know exactly what Pirelli has on hand in these conditions. He concluded.

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