Tough task ahead for Force India after qualifying

Force India-Mercedes driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany powers his car during the third practice session at the Buddh International circuit in Greater Noida.

Greater Noida - Sahara Force India have a lot to do for improving on their ordinary qualifying performance at the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix here on Sunday.

The team, aiming for a double points finish at its home race, failed to make the Q3 in Saturday’s qualifying with Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta managing 12th and 16th on the grid.

Hulkenberg was a second slower than Sebastian Vettel‘s pole position time of 1:25.283 while di Resta was further behind at 1:26.989.

“We went into the session expecting to make Q3 so it is disappointing to miss out. The way first qualifying went, it was clear it was going to be a tough ask to make the top 10. My lap in Q2 was pretty good and that was the maximum we could have got out of the car,” said Hulkenberg.

“Looking at the overall times today, we could still hope to finish with points tomorrow.”

Di Resta’s show was his worst in qualifying this season. He said it was a result of the car’s set-up.

“It is a big disappointment. Nothing went right for us. The car balance was not ideal and I could not have my best lap in my final run in Q2. It is an important day for us tomorrow and we need to try to and recover some ground and come home with some points,” said the disgruntled looking Scot at the team’s hospitality here at the Buddh International Circuit.

Force India are seventh in the team standings with 89 points.