On the heels of another fourth-place finish in Singapore recently, Sahara Force India drivers Paul de Resto and Nico Hulkenberg have their sights trained on the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
Di Resta, who picked up 12 points for his team with a career-best finish at the Singapore Grand Prix, termed the result as his best day in Formula One and hoped to continue the momentum. “When we qualified sixth we knew it was going to be tough to even maintain that in the race, but things worked out very well and I was able to challenge Fernando [Alonso] for a podium in the final stint. I think we learned a lot in Singapore about how to get the most from the car and the aim now is to try and repeat the form we showed towards the end of the race. If we can do that, the momentum will carry on,” he told the Sahara Force India website.
Hulkenberg, who finished 14th in Singapore after starting from 12th but set the fastest lap of the race with 1min 51.033secs, was excited ahead of one of his favorite raises of the season. “Suzuka is definitely one of my favourite circuits: it’s really challenging and technical, and you need a good car balance to hook up a good lap. Because it’s so technical it’s important to find a good rhythm because if you mess up one corner you can lose the flow of the whole lap,” he said. “My race in 2010 with Williams was not especially memorable because I was taken out before the first corner. That was a real shame because it’s a track I really enjoy and with corners like the ‘S’ curves it’s a great experience in a Formula One car.”
Di Resta has limited experience of racing at Suzuka, having made his venue debut last year, but felt he could cope with the conditions. “It’s a track that’s all about aero so it’s a real test of your car. I also found it very technical with corners like the ‘S' curves where you need a good change of direction. Finding the sweet spot isn’t easy because half the track is made up of straights so you need efficiency as well as downforce for the high-speed corners. Tyre degradation is also high so a neutral car is what you need during the race,” he said.
As the season enters the final six races, Hulkenberg was in a buoyant mood. “I’m feeling positive and we have generated some good momentum within the team recently so I want to keep that going. The goal is to keep getting consistent results in the points,” he said.
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