BackFormula One | New year, new hope
Even for a middle-rung team, Force India has fought consistently for the podium, but they may do better in 2014 with a new set of rules
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At the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix in June, McLaren’s record streak of scoring points in 64 consecutive races (dating back to 2010) came to an end. While their garage was visibly muted, there was an air of elation down the paddock, at Force India.
Their drivers, Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, had reversed a poor qualifying result into a double points-scoring finish, taking the chequered flag at 7th and 10th places, respectively. That result gave Force India seven points for the weekend and took their tally to 51 points from seven races. The only Indian team (albeit with a UK base) on the grid was at the fifth spot in the constructors’ championship, one above McLaren (37 points).
The irony wasn’t lost on anyone. The two have a technical arrangement since 2009 under which McLaren supplies gearboxes and hydraulics to Force India. The supposedly “junior" team, a middle-rung contender, was trumping its “senior" partner known for its excellence in car development. How did they achieve this?
“Force India’s 2013 car, the VJM06, is a different machine from the 2012-challenger," said Robert Fernley, Force India team vice-principal at the Singapore GP last month. “Pirelli’s original tyre specifications for this season included a steel-belt in their tyre constructions. After the Silverstone fiasco (where the tyres burst), they went back to the 2012 kevlar-belt-based construction and that really hurt our car. As the results have panned out for all to see, we have struggled ever since."
The 2013 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, UK, will always be remembered as a turning point. Tyres play a huge role in motorsport and ever since Pirelli came back in 2011, they have done a specific job, of providing tyres with high degradation, playing a hand in race strategy. As always, there are two sides to the coin. While it does make for an engaging spectacle, making drivers think strategy on their feet, safety concerns were raised as early as the first race of this season in Australia. Pirelli held off the pressure, for a while, and then tyres exploded at Silverstone, forcing them to pay heed and change tyre constructions.
While Red Bull Racing gained from this move back to 2012 specifications, helping Sebastian Vettel to almost secure his fourth consecutive title, Force India weren’t the only team to have lost out. Ferrari and Lotus both suffered in their respective title challenges, with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen suffering in their qualifying results (which in turn affected their race strategy). The only difference, though, is that these two teams are richer than Force India to turn their season around.
Putting his words in perspective are the results Force India have fought to attain since Silverstone. Di Resta has struggled to bring his car home in three of the six races since then (until Korea), finishing 18th (Hungary, 26-28 July) and 20th (Singapore, 20-22 September) in two other races, with 11th in Germany (5-7 July) his highest finish. Sutil has managed three points with 9th in Belgium (23-25 August) and 10th in Singapore, while finishing only 13th in Germany and 20th in Korea (4-6 October) and retiring in Hungary.
“Change in tyres has really affected our performance," said Di Resta. “The key is to get the tyres switched on and other teams have been able to work it out, while we haven’t."
In the meantime, Force India’s loss in performance has been McLaren’s gain. Since Canada in June, they have scored 44 points to Force India’s 11 points, turning their deficit around to a 19-point lead. With four races to go in the season, McLaren are placed fifth with 83 points and Force India, who are sixth with 62 points, have conceded defeat, barring a miracle. It comes at a huge cost, for finishing fifth would have meant a bigger share of the prize money, something Force India need more than McLaren going into 2014.
“We showed, with a good car, it’s possible to fight McLaren. Fifth position for us at the end of the year would have been two better than last year (seventh in 2012) and that means much better financial backing, of course, for the next season. It could have been a better chance for us next year to compete even better, but it is a high target for us now," said Sutil.
There is hope still. Force India’s last big push had come at the onset of the current technical regulations. In 2009, when they had entered into that aforementioned technical partnership with McLaren, they moved up from an also-ran team to a middle-rung team that challenged consistently for points and fought for podiums if the opportunity presented itself.
From 2014 onwards, they have a new agreement in place, this time with Mercedes who are one of the three big engine-suppliers along with Ferrari and Renault. Since the new rules encompass a greater role for engines and powertrains, this is another possible step-up in performance for Force India.
“Despite what has happened, I can say we were a potential podium car in 2013. That has been in keeping with our development cycle, and we have been on-the-mark since 2009. The idea for 2014 and onwards is to be a podium-contender," asserted Fernley.
Chetan Narula is the author of History of Formula One: The Circus comes to India.
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