2011 end of term report – Force India

Force India took another step forward in 2011. Tenth in 2008, the Silverstone-based team is improving step by step and finished 6th in this year’s World Championship. It was particularly competitive in the second half of the season and almost pipped Renault to fifth place.

Season review

At the start of the year, the team made some changes to its driver line-up, replacing Tonio Liuzzi with Paul di Resta and signing Nico Hulkenberg as third driver. Its VJM04, designed by Andrew Green, was officially unveiled on the 8th of February.

The beginning of the season was a bit difficult for Force India. The team struggled for performance and scored only a few points in the first races. The Indian squad kept its head down and introduced updates on its car. It started to pay off at the British Grand Prix, with Di Resta’s sixth place on the starting grid.

From then on, Force India became stronger and regularly placed its cars in the top ten. From Germany to Brazil, the team scored points on every round bar one – Japan. Its best results came at Singapore – Di Resta 6th, Sutil 8th – and Interlagos – Sutil 6th and Di Resta 8th.

Off track, 2011 was also an important year for the team. In October, the Indian company Sahara acquired 42.5% of the team. Vijay Mallya remains Team Principal and still owns 42.5% of the team. The remaining 15% are owned by Mol.

Conclusion

With 69 points and 6th in the constructors’ standings, Force India has every reason to be proud of its season. It got really strong in the second part of the season and challenged the likes of LRGP and Mercedes on occasions.

The outfit scored only 12 points in the first part of the season and was behind Toro Rosso and Sauber in the standings. However, in the second half of the season, it scored 57 points and passed its rivals in the championship to claim 6th overall.

Expectations

Force India will start 2012 with a new driver line-up. While Paul di Resta will stay with the team, Adrian Sutil has been released and will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg.

The cash injected by Sahara, the new co-owner of the team, should help the team to move forward. Nonetheless, the winter might be troubled for Vijay Mallya whose airline is on the verge of collapsing. Recent rumours questioned the future of the Indian businessman as Force India’s Team Principal.

Highs
—  Excellent 2nd half of the season
—  New co-owner
—  Best ranking in the championship since 2002

Lows
—  Slow start
—  Some erratic strategies
—  Delayed its 2012 driver line-up announcement

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
— Olivier Ferret : 15/20
— D.Thys : 14/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 15/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 14/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 14/20
—  Total : 72/100