Force India’s team principal warns new investor there’s no short cuts to success
FORCE India’s new investor Subrata Roy believes the Silverstone-based team can one day be as successful as Red Bull, but team principal Vijay Mallya has warned there are no short cuts to the top.
Indian billionaire Mallya is reported as telling German magazine Auto Motor und Sport this week the team is under pressure from fans in his home country to deliver even more results in 2012, after it finished the 2011 season sixth behind Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
He said: “The Indian people are proud we have been able to create a team for the country to play an important role in Formula 1.
“With our success we have attracted a larger group of supporters.
“Now it’s getting difficult to meet the demands. The people of India expect us to beat Mercedes now.”
Mallya said there was no reason why the team could not match the success of 2010 and 2011 season champions Red Bull, a fellow non-carmaker team, in future, but warned success would not happen overnight.
He said: “Subrata Roy’s vision is to be as good as Red Bull but he’s so excited I have to stop him a bit. There are no shortcuts in Formula 1.”
Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg has hinted his task in the new season will be to do enough to maintain his drive after the season ends.
The 24-year-old German was dropped by the Williams team at the end of his debut season in 2010 and sat out the 2011 season as reserve driver for Force India, but was promoted to a race seat for 2012.
Speaking to German media he hinted the deal he had done with the team would only last one season, and that he would need to prove himself to remain in the sport in 2013.
He said: “My goal is to establish myself in Formula 1. I want to have a race cockpit again in 2013.”
Hulkenberg will be competing against Britain’s Paul di Resta, who is in his second season with the team, and is likely to have the edge on his new team-mate at the first race of the season in Australia next month.
But Hulkenberg said he hoped to have the measure of the Brit as soon as possible.
He said: “I may have to polish off a little rust, but I’m relaxed and ready for the season.”
The team will unveil its new season challenger at Silverstone at the end of this week.
The VJM05 will be presented to the world’s media at Silverstone on Friday.
Meanwhile former Force India driver Adrian Sutil has been handed an 18-month suspended sentence and fined 200,000 euros, after being found guilty of injuring an F1 executive after the Chinese Grand Prix last year.
The 29-year-old German stood before a Munich court on Monday and Tuesday to answer charges he caused grievous bodily harm to Eric Lux, the chief executive of Renault F1 team owners Genii Capital, with a champagne glass in a Shanghai nightclub after the race in April last year.
Luxembourg businessman Lux needed stitches for a neck wound after the incident, which happened as Sutil was celebrating his close friend Lewis Hamilton’s race win.
Sutil told the court on Monday he had repeatedly apologised to Lux. He denied it was his intention to hurt him, and said he had only planned to throw a drink in his face.
The fine will be paid to charity.
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