Force India embarks on a crucial weekend at Silverstone
The British Grand Prix is highly anticipated for Force India as this is the occasion where the team introduces the B version of its car. After the first two practice sessions, the car seems faster in the eyes of Nico Hülkenberg as well as Sergio Perez.
Following delayed developments due to insufficient cash flow, Force India finally introduced the B version of its car at Silverstone. According to the statements of the two drivers, the improvement seems real, though not yet spectacular, especially because the best settings are still to be found. The Force India cars finished 9th and 12th, then 8th and 13th.
During both sessions, Nico Hülkenberg finished ahead of his teammate (two-tenths behind the Red Bull cars, which are Force India’s target for this weekend) and thus seems more comfortable on the demanding Silverstone track. “We immediately found performance,” rejoices the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. “From the first stint, I had a positive feeling and that’s an encouraging sign. With the new elements on the car, there is always quite a steep learning curve. So we will carefully examine the data tonight to find more areas to improve. But I am truly optimistic.”
Even if he was about a second slower than his teammate, Sergio Perez was also satisfied with his new car. We have accumulated a good number of kilometers today. So, there are many things to analyze and learn, but I feel that we have really taken a step forward, which is exactly what the team expected. It is always a complex task to learn a lot about the new elements in just two sessions, but during the last run of the final session, I felt comfortable, which is promising for the race.
