Force India continued their points-scoring run in Malaysia as Adrian Sutil picked up ten points for his fifth place finish.
Sutil’s teammate Tonio Liuzzi, who had scored points in the two previous races, retired on Lap 12 in Kuala Lumpa with a suspected throttle problem.
Adrian Sutil, who had been unlucky to miss out on points finishes in the early races, was pleased to final get a good haul today.” The race was exciting and fifth place in the end was a great achievement. I was hoping for a good race as we were so close in the first two races but then had a little bit of back luck that stopped us scoring. It was a good overall performance from the team.
“It was always very close with Lewis [Hamilton] just behind in the closing stages but I knew that if I didn’t make any mistakes I wouldn’t have any problems, so it was just trying to concentrate. I had to push, of course, but it was under control. I think we can now carry this forward to China: we are still a good top 10 competitor and we need to continue like this – Q3 and a few points each race would be great at this stage in the season.”
Tonio Liuzzi said the race outlook was promising until it juddered to a premature end. “I had had a good start from tenth and was in seventh place and had a good pace, although I was stuck behind Hulkenberg in the Williams. I was struggling to pass even though I was quicker but we were optimistic for a good race.
“Unfortunately I had a problem with the throttle after about 12 laps. We didn’t understand exactly what it was but overall we lost drive and that was the end of it. It’s disappointing for me but I’m pleased that Adrian could score a lot of points as that helps us in the constructors’ championship.”
Vijay Mallya was disappointed that he was again deprived of two points scoring drivers in one race, but is happy that Force India are consistently picking up top ten finishes. “Three races and three times in the points, I am absolutely delighted. Adrian had a strong race, keeping a cool head under pressure when a charging Lewis Hamilton was right on his tail. Once again we’ve proved the pace of our car and our ability to really mix it in the midfield.
“It was disappointing not to have two cars in the points, but it is overall very positive that we can race hard and score points entirely on merit.”
