Sutil: Streamlined F1 will help Force India
Sutil believes making F1 more efficient will help smaller teams like Force India
Also In The News
|
By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 18, Jan 2010 01:30
By Adam Leveridge
Force India's smaller operation will make adapting to a more streamlined formula one far easier and should provide the outfit with an advantage in 2010, according to Adrian Sutil.
Force India established themselves as a competitive team in 2009 by consistently punching above their weight and trouncing some of the more substantial teams on the grid.
In an interview with the official F1 website, Sutil said it was vital for Force India to perform well in 2009 and make a name for themselves.
"It feels very good to be a competitive team in F1," Sutil explained.
"The 2009 season was one of the most important seasons for us. We were able to make a name for ourselves in F1 with constantly good performances and a few huge surprises.
"Now it's important to continue our good work and try to be even more competitive in 2010."
Since arriving in F1 two years ago, Force India have been one of the smallest operations on the grid.
However, with the arrival of four new teams in 2010 - USF1, Campos Meta, Lotus F1 and Virgin Racing - and the introduction of new regulations, the larger, more established outfits will be forced to streamline their efforts and decrease their budgets too.
Sutil believes that, because Force India is proficient in working with a smaller headcount and a limited budget, it will give the team an advantage.
"What probably was a shortfall in the past is now turning into a big advantage for us right now, as we are used to working within a small budget and with less people," said Sutil.
"We can fully concentrate on our development, as we used to do over the last few years, without having to shift energy into various downgrades.
"Other teams need to learn - probably painfully - how to work efficiently with less people and a reduced budget. That could take a little while and so 2010 could be a big opportunity for us."
Force India will retain the same driver line-up they ended 2009 with and Sutil thinks that, because of the limited winter testing, this consistency will help to bring results while other drivers are settling into their new teams at the start of the racing season.
"There is only testing in February and whilst you're there you don't really want to lose time on getting used to a new team or team-mate," said Sutil.
"I see this as another advantage for us, especially during the first few races, where the others will still have to find their way around their new team and figure out what their team-mate is like.
"The whole team is hard at work developing the best car possible and it looks very, very promising right now."
In other news, ex-Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella has been touted to fill the remaining Sauber race-seat alongside Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi, who impressed everybody with his aggressive style when replacing injured Timo Glock at Toyota for the final two races of the 2009 season.