Force India say wheel nut issue fixed

Shanghai, April 8 (IANS):

Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya Monday said his team has overcome the wheel nut issue ahead of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

Wheel nut problem in both Force India cars during the Malaysia round caused the team’s first double-retirement since Japan 2010.

It was a disappointing result for the Silverstone outfit which showed good pace in qualifying to go with its best ever start to a season in Melbourne.

“Though the race in Malaysia was very disappointing, we have the potential to bounce back quickly in Shanghai. Throughout the Sepang weekend, we had a quick car and the drivers felt good about their chances. We were confident of bringing both cars home in the points until the wheel nut issue let us down. We’ve had three weeks to understand what went wrong and have worked hard to fix the root cause of the problem,” Mallya said.

Despite the non-finish in Malaysia, Force India are fifth in the team standings, ahead of Sauber and McLaren.

Mallya, who is here ahead of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, was of the opinion that the next two races will give them a fair indication of where they stand in the mid-field battle.

“The next two weekends in China and Bahrain will put us in a position to see where we really stand in comparison with our rivals. Everyone in the team is looking forward to this challenge and I am confident we will put the disappointment of Malaysia behind us and bring home some big points,” he said.