Silverstone: Sahara Force India looks forward to round eight of the season at Silverstone. Speaking on their preparation for the British Grand Prix, Paul Di Resta said that as a young boy he always dreamt about coming to Silverstone as a Formula One driver and therefore the race is very special to him.
“It’s always a highlight of the year. When I was young I dreamed about coming to Silverstone as a Formula One driver so it’s always a very special weekend. As a venue it’s spectacular with some of the greatest corners of the year and the atmosphere is just incredible. The place is packed all weekend and the buzz from the fans gives you so much energy,” said Paul, adding that he was quite happy with his consistency so far in this season.
“I think we can be pretty happy with that. All things considered we’ve managed to get some good results and kept up our momentum. The last two results, in particular, felt very satisfying, especially because we managed to get the strategy spot on to come through the field. These results set us up nicely for this weekend, which is a massive one for everyone in the team,” he said.
“With the way our car is working these tyres at the moment, we are looking really healthy. I believe this car is the best we've ever had and everyone in the team is working hard to squeeze even more performance from it. The key for Silverstone is to hopefully get three successful days in a row on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That’s what we did in Bahrain and it really paid off. If we can do it at Silverstone, then hopefully we can make a big impact on the race,” he added.
Meanwhile Adrian Sutil said he was feeling positive ahead of Silverstone. “I think it was important to have these results, especially the fifth place in Monaco, because it helps you forget some of the missed opportunities from earlier in the season. Canada was another race where we had good speed and considering everything that happened to me during the race it was good to come away with a point. As a team we’ve shown just how competitive we can be, but I feel there is still much more to come,” he said.
“It’s not my top favourite, but it’s a great place to drive a Formula One car. It’s fast and flowing, so it’s quite a big change from Monaco and Canada, but I’m confident that we can go there and perform well. I enjoy the high-speed sections and also the newer start of the lap, which definitely makes it easier to overtake compared to the old layout,” he added.
Meanwhile Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya said that he was looking forward to the team’s local race. “There is always something special about racing at Silverstone. After the Indian Grand Prix, we regard Silverstone as our second ‘home’ race. Our headquarters is just across the road and everyone in the team feels a touch of pride in racing on what we consider ‘our’ turf. It is also a special place, the venue where the very first Formula One World Championship race was held and one which can boast some of the most passionate fans in the world,” Mallya said.
