Adrian Sutil is optimistic his Force India team can have a strong result in Singapore this weekend, despite the German's off in free practice 2.
Sutil clipped the second apex kerb at the controversial turn 10 complex, sending his car airborne and shattering his left-front suspension on landing.
After limping back to the pits with only one wheel capable of steering the car, a stewards' investigation heard that Sutil was in breach of article 30.14 of the sporting regulations, unsafely driving a damaged car, and was fined $10,000.
“Unfortunately I made a small mistake in the chicane and went over the kerb,” he said.
“The car took off and when it came back down it broke some of the front suspension and I had to stop.
“It’s disappointing as I couldn’t do my soft tyre run at the end.”
But Sutil reckons the Force India is well suited to the Marina Bay circuit, despite its high downforce configuration contrasting with the recent lower downforce tracks such as Monza and Spa, at which the car excelled.
“The car feels much better here than last year and I think we can achieve a lot this weekend.”
Both Force India drivers finished in the top seven in the first practice session of the day on a drying track.
Sutil's team mate Tonio Liuzzi reckons tyre choice will be key in qualifying and the race.
“It’s going to be difficult to choose the tyres tomorrow as the soft work well but tail off and then the car balance is affected, but the hard seem to work fine,” he said.
“We have to work a little on the set-up but on the longer runs it felt OK and even on the heavier fuel loads we seem competitive.”
With the threat of rain for the rest of the weekend posing a unique challenge under floodlights, being on the right tyre at the right time could determine a driver's weekend.
