Force India didn't expect such a start

Force India is currently fifth in the Manufacturers' standings, one point ahead McLaren. With the podium of the Mexican Sergio Pérez in Bahrain and the series of ten consecutive races in the points for the German Nico Hulkenberg between Australia and Germany, Vijay Mallya's team scored each time until Hungary. Despite the disappointment at the Hungaroring, Otmar Szafnauer, operations director of the Silverstone-based team, remains satisfied with his team's somewhat unexpected start to the season.

“We didn't know, for example, who would have done the best development on the engine side, says Szafnauer. We stayed with Mercedes because we thought they would do the best job. But we didn't know any more. We started thinking about the 2014 car very early, which we felt was an advantage. And since we don't have the same resources as others, we might not have been able to experiment with certain things if we started later. We particularly focused our work on engine cooling. »

The Mercedes Power Unit plays a major role in the good form of the VJM07 recognizes the team's operations director. “We knew they had the resources to develop the zero-roll engine. They designed the engine entirely at home. Our relationship is excellent. Mercedes has supplied us with good engines for several years. » Regarding the performances of the Pérez duo? Hülkenberg, Szafnauer admits to having a good combination of drivers, which nevertheless seems to work better in the race than in qualifying. “It’s not a question of priority, but we will always choose to have the best set-up for Sunday, especially if overtaking is possible on the circuit. Performing well on Saturday and collapsing on Sunday makes no sense. »

In addition to the recent major developments seen at Silverstone (fins, pontoons, flat bottom?) Force India intends to continue its development throughout the year, with new features that could be used for 2015.