Austrian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes from the Force India drivers!

Nico Hulkenberg - "Together with Russia, this race is one of the big question marks for everyone this year. The track has some long straights and a few slow corners that should suit us, and we can count on making the most of softer compounds as we did in Canada. When you go to a new track it's even more important to maximise the practice sessions because there is so much more to learn. The lap is quite short so the gaps between the cars will be minimal and even small mistakes can make a big difference. We have shown once more to be both competitive and consistent, but we will need to keep our guard up and keep working hard as we did from the start. There will be tracks where we will be stronger and where we can capitalise on the opportunities we have, and tracks that will be more of a challenge. I know what plans the team has for the rest of the season and I see no reason why we cannot keep battling at the level we are at now."

Sergio Perez - "I don't really know what to expect because it's my first visit to the track, but I'm really looking forward to going there. It's a circuit that not many people know and so it can give you an opportunity to find a small advantage. You have to learn fast and be ready to adapt. A new circuit is always a bit more of a challenge, but it's interesting and I like the look of the track layout. I think the layout of the track will work well for our car. Hopefully we will have the opportunity for another strong performance there."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Canadian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes come from the Force India F1 Team!

Nico Hulkenberg - "Monaco was not our strongest track, or our weakest track, but we still brought the car home for a great result - it's my best run of results in Formula One and I'm really enjoying the racing. I've said many times that consistency is our strength and we showed that again. It's difficult to say how we will perform in Montreal. In theory it should be one of the better tracks for us, but things change from race to race. It's good that we have the soft and supersoft tyres again because I think the softer tyres are more suited to our car. As an overall event the Canadian Grand Prix is one of my favourites because of the buzz around the city and the unusual track. To get a quick lap you need good top speed, a car that can attack the curbs and you also have to be brave enough to get close to the walls."

Sergio Perez - "I have very good memories from Montreal. In 2012 I started at the back of the grid and managed to finish in third place. It was an amazing race and my one-stop strategy worked perfectly. It was my second podium in Formula One and a great feeling - one I hope to experience again soon. It's another track where you need good top speed and traction from the slow corners. You also have to maximise the limits of the track to be quick and get really close to the walls, so it's easy to make a mistake. After a very disappointing race in Monaco, I just want to get back in the car and get the best possible result for my team. Points will be the target."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Monaco GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes come from The Force India boys!

Nico Hulkenberg - "It's the event of the year. Your heartbeat goes up when you arrive there and walk over the bridge into the pits. The place looks amazing with the buildings, the scenery and the mountains. Of course the biggest thrill is driving the track because it's so unique and gives you the biggest excitement of the year. In terms of precision it's right up there with Singapore as the toughest race of the year. You never get a break during the lap; you are always working hard because it's corner after corner. Even the straights are really short and it's high-speed for such a narrow track. I particularly enjoy the swimming pool area, which is very quick, and the two right-hand corners before the tunnel. I think it will be a normal track for us. As far as the pecking order is concerned, it's very tight and competitive at the moment so we need to keep working hard and keep developing."

Sergio Perez - "It's a big challenge and I have always believed it's a circuit where ýthe driver can really make a difference. So you always have the chance to do something special there. It's not the most difficult lap of the year, but you have to always keep your concentration. I don't believe that there will be a major surprise and I expect the same teams to be at the front. It's hard to predict how strong we will be, but I hope we can continue our good form."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Spanish GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Here are the preview quotes from Force India!

Nico Hulkenberg - “Even though we know the place inside out, it remains a tough, tricky circuit and one of those places where it’s especially important to optimise the car balance. If you don’t feel totally comfortable with the car it really hurts your lap time. Barcelona is the true test for downforce because of the quick corners in the first and second sectors. Traction is also important in the final part of the lap with the low-speed corners and we should be strong there.”

Sergio Perez - “I love coming back to Europe to race on some of the classic circuits. I enjoy Barcelona and for me it’s one of the best circuits on the whole calendar. It’s very complete with a mix of everything and some very long, quick corners. It’s tough physically, especially on the neck with so many right hand corners, but it’s a fun place to drive a Formula One car. It’s always a race where teams bring new updates so it’s going to be interesting to see how everyone will perform there.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next preview quotes for the Chinese GP are from Sahara Force India!

Nico Hulkenberg - "We’ve shown we have a good package and we have the hunger to keep fighting at the front. We’ve performed well at all the tracks so far and they all had very different characteristics. So we can feel positive that the car will perform quite well in China. We are going there after the test in Bahrain and hopefully we can bring some more performance too. So I think we can aim for another competitive weekend and come away with some more points."

Sergio Perez - "To get the podium in Bahrain was great - it’s a great result for this team and a big boost of confidence for me. The target is to move on, keep improving and target more podiums. Bahrain was the first real opportunity I had to develop the car through the weekend without any issues so it felt like my season really started there. Now we need to think about how we can do better in China. At the same time we must not get carried away because we know how competitive Formula One is and how things can change very quickly."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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F1Insider Featured Article: Perez takes Force India to the Podium

Late last year, one of the biggest questions in F1 was "Where will Sergio Perez land?" - The young driver from Mexico was replaced at McLaren with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen. Although there is no hard feelings between Perez and the Woking-based team, he still needed somewhere to go.

Sergio was picked up by Force India at the end of 2013 and partnered with Nico Hulkenberg, who drove for Sauber that year. Sergio has never been a driver for Force India before, but was welcomed and greeted like a part of the family.

The team had only ever got a podium finish once, back in 2009 and while most people would rate them as "Midfield" - I rate them much higher and say they're in the same playing field as Mercedes this year. With 3 races already completed this year, Nico finished all 3 in the top 10. Sergio, unable to start in Malaysia, shocked many when he rose to secure 3rd in Bahrain, getting the first Podium for the team in over 5 years. It was an incredible feeling, as he was quoted saying he'd almost "Quit" F1 after being left-out of McLaren's 2014 Line-Up. He didn't want to take a back-marker seat just to stay in the sport. He wanted a good team and car capable of winning and it seems he has it this year.

I believe both he and Nico can finish on the podium more than once this year and I'm definitely cheering them on.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes are from the Sahara Force India team!

 Nico Hulkenberg - "The performance in Malaysia was very encouraging, especially because we managed it with a two-stop strategy and nobody else near the front managed that. We've had two good races and have scored a lot of points already. I think we have a strong foundation and we can now build on that. The car is good, but there are still areas that we need to focus and work on so we have to keep the development rate high. In terms of performance I expect something similar to Malaysia. I think the aim must be for us to qualify in the top ten again and score some more points. To be honest Bahrain hasn't been the best place for me and I've never had a good result there. So we're going to change that this year!"

Sergio Perez - "It's a very good thing that the disappointment will only last a couple of days before we go to Bahrain, so I'm looking forward to it. The whole weekend in Malaysia was frustrating, but hopefully we can achieve a great result in Bahrain. I feel that we are in good shape, so hopefully we can deliver a strong performance there. If we keep out of trouble, we should have the pace to score points and get our season back on track. Last year I had a good race with McLaren and it was one of my best races. Also, I won there in GP2. Normally it's a good track for me, so I'm looking forward to it."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes from Sahara Force India's driver duo.

Nico Hulkenberg - “Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation. It should be a good test of the new cars because it’s much more open than Melbourne with a nice variation of high and low-speed corners, plus two long straights.”

Sergio Perez - “I think as a team we are moving in the right direction and there were lots of positives to take away from Australia. It was the first race and we, as everyone else on the grid, are still learning a lot about the new car. We have seen some encouraging signs and collected a lot of data that can be put to use for the next few races, starting in Sepang. “I believe Malaysia can be a very good race for us. Let's see how we can perform there. I think Melbourne was a more difficult one for us and with a hotter track and more rear tyre degradation for everyone we can be stronger. I'm counting the days to Malaysia to recover what we couldn't achieve in Australia. I have good memories of this track and I want to build on my previous results there.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes are from my main team for this year, Force India with the pairing of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Nico Hulkenberg - “It’s been three races in Melbourne and I’ve still not completed a racing lap! They say bad luck comes in groups of three so hopefully attempt number four will work out better! The car has come a long way since Jerez. We made steps at each test and I think we made very good use of the time we had available. We signed off a lot of things during testing and I don’t think we’re in bad shape. There is always more you can do, but we’re pretty well prepared. I feel comfortable (in the car), but I think this feeling will grow stronger during the season. The cars are different compared to last year: the corner speeds are lower because there is less downforce and the engine behaviour is quite different. So it’s a new challenge and it’s difficult to tell just from testing how it will feel during a race weekend. It’s not easy (to set expectations). Testing only tells you so much, but I think we still have some performance in our pocket. I just hope we are competitive and can race for good points.”

Sergio Perez - “It’s the first race of the year so I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time. I hope we can have a great start of the season. The new rules are interesting and the cars are quite challenging. There is less downforce now, but there is a lot of torque from the engine so it’s quite a different feeling. You also have to think about managing the fuel load and we know that Melbourne is a circuit with high fuel consumption. There are more things to do in terms of managing the systems on the car so it’s more complicated than last year. The pre-season testing has given us enough time to get to know the new systems so I don't foresee any issue come the first race. I think we are feeling well prepared going into Melbourne. Testing has had its ups and downs, as always, but we ended the second Bahrain test in a good position. There are still areas we need to improve, but I think we have made a good start and we can build on that. It's always a good feeling to start with a new team. I had a full winter to get to know everyone and I’m feeling ready now. The team is very hungry and I hope we can achieve some great things this year.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Sergio Perez to Partner Nico Hulkenberg at Force India in 2014.

Force India announced formally that Sergio Perez is indeed the other driver for the team next year, and will partner German driver, Nico Hulkenberg. Rumours said that Perez would land the Lotus drive or head back to Sauber, who had him in 2011 and 2012. But both of those were false and instead he heads to London based Sahara Force India, who have welcomed him with big hearts and are already getting him used to the team.

More info to come soon.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Sergio Perez out at McLaren, Kevin Magnussen in.

Most of the silly season rumours have turned out to be true moves/switches between Drivers and Teams. One of the biggest ones have surrounded the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team.

Whitmarsh announced that the only thing that had been signed was with Jenson Button. It left concern about Sergio Perez and was he going to be staying on the team for next year? Sergio had told the public that he was expecting to stay with McLaren and that everything looked good for him and his future.

But after releasing a Farewell statement on Wednesday, from Twitter, Sergio was to part ways with McLaren after this year. With social media buzzing about the reason why and wanting a for sure answer, Martin Whitmarsh announced Sergio was leaving and wished him nothing but the best in his future/career. Kevin Magnussen, the young rookie, will be taking Sergio's seat in 2014.

Not many people feel this is fair and I have to admit.. Sergio should've been given another year or two in a better car. This years McLaren MP4-28 was not up to expectations and gave the drivers a disappointing season.

All-In-All, I really hope Sergio is able to find a seat somewhere in Formula 1 next year. He's a great guy with a huge heart and a big passion for racing. He loves and cares about his fans and is doing what he can to make these last two races the best of the season. So, Checo... Best of luck to you! We support you.

As for Kevin, I'm sure he is thrilled about becoming a very young McLaren driver and I hope he achieves the goals he has set for himself.

I'm also happy that Jenson Button will be sticking around.. I have been very supportive of McLaren this year and that will not change next year. Sergio said he will always be a fan of McLaren and so will I.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Sergio Perez: A look back at his year so far with McLaren.

Around this time, last year.. It was announced that Lewis Hamilton would be making his move from McLaren-Mercedes to Mercedes-Mercedes. It was also announced that the person taking his place would be the young driver from Sauber: Sergio Perez.

With the 2013 F1 season almost over, I thought it was time to take a look back at how Perez has done so far. The 23 year old from Guadalajara, Mexico, proved his talent when he scored 3 Podiums while on the Sauber team. He'd been with the team since 2011 and was already racing like a winner. Sergio expressed his excitement after finding out his McLaren news. He was eager to start racing with them and was looking forward for the 2013 season to begin. 

But things have not been easy for Perez. The McLaren MP4-28 wasn't in the shape it should've been for the start of the season. The team admitted to thinking maybe some things were wrong with the car and they knew they needed to see what they could do to fix them before the first race in Australia. 

After Winter-Testing, come March, it was time for the teams to head to Melbourne. Sergio started 15th on the grid and finished in 11th. Then in Malaysia for the Second race of the season, he both started from and finished in 9th, where he got his first points with McLaren. It overall wasn't a bad way to start the season.

The third race took place in China. He again finished in 11th. McLaren were making what changes they could, to help both Perez and Button get more points and a chance at the podium. The 4th race was in Bahrain, where during the race, Sergio Perez and his team mate, Jenson Button, got into a bit of a Wheel-To-Wheel battle, both trying to pass one another. They clipped wheels a few times, before Sergio cruised ahead to finish in 6th, gaining more points.

The two talked the situation over, later on with Team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh... With no hard feelings between the two, there was no drama brought to the 5th race, in Spain, where Perez finished in the points again, in 9th.

The next race was in Monte Carlo, Monaco. A circuit Perez was all-too-familiar with.. And not in a good way. In 2011, driving his Sauber, he missed the Chicane and his car spun and hit a barrier. He was taken to the hospital overnight, suffering from and injured thigh and a concussion. This year, he didn't have any serious accident, but did have a tough passing battle with Lotus Driver, Kimi Raikkonen. During this, Raikkonen squeezed Sergio up again the rail, during which, pieces flew off of the McLaren. A few laps later, the team told Perez he needed to retire the car because his breaks had failed, making the car unsafe to drive. Because he had completed more than 90% of the race, he still qualified as finishing in 16th.

After the race, Kimi took to the press to say that Perez had ruined his race and that maybe he should be "Punched in the face." - But, Perez felt no need to make any comment back towards Kimi, but instead publicly explained the whole situation in a very professional manner.

In the next race, which was held in Canada, Perez finished in 11th. The race after that was hectic. Silverstone, during a practice Session, Perez had a tyre explode into pieces. Pirelli looked into it and assured everyone that the tyres were safe and that there was no need for concern or stress. But during the race, Sergio and more than 3 others all had tyres explode during the race. Some went on to finish the race, but for Perez, it was over. They retired his car, due to the explosion causing other damage to the front of the McLaren. He still finished over 90%% of the race again and was qualified as finishing in 20th.

Happy to get back to finishing in the points, he recieved more after placing 8th in the German GP, then again in Hungary, finishing 9th, giving him a double consecutive points finish. Things were looking pretty good again. Perez was eager to come back even stronger after the Summer Break. The race that started off the Second-Half of the season took place in Belgium. He ended up finishing just behind the points, in 11th. Then in Italy, he paced in 12th. It was disappointing for him after he'd finished on the Podium there last year.

Come Singapore, Perez was back in the points after crossing the Finish Line in 8th. And then he kept up his pace in Korea, finishing in 10th and just nabbing that last Championship Point.

In the latest race, which was in Japan, Perez was holding 5th/6th pretty much during the whole race. Unluckily, Nico Rosberg made contact with the McLaren and Sergios tyes exploded. He ended up finishing 15th. 

With 4 races to go, he still has a good chance of getting more points and a possible podium finish. 

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

Realistic Ambitions for Sergio Perez.

McLaren has been unfortunate this year, not finishing inside the points much, recently until the German GP. Button finished in 6th, while Perez finished 8th. But Perez wants to be realistic about how things will be going down in Hungary, and had this to say:

"I'm going to Hungary with realistic ambitions and after a positive weekend at the Nurburgring, we're focused on further improving and understanding the MP4-28. I think the race in Germany showed that, when things come together, we're able to be a force in the race, even if we can't quite set the pace at the front. That is extemely motivating during a difficult year. Hungary is the last race of the first 'Half' of 2013; it's the final event before the official Summer break, so there's usually a good feeling in the paddock. For everybody on the race team, or working back at the MTC, it would be great to send everybody off on their Summer holidays with another strong points finish. I haven't had the best results in my two previous outings at the Hungaroring, which is a shame [But] I enjoy the circuit, have usually qualified well there, and think the race is a great event for F1."

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

Oh, Monaco: The battle of Perez and Raikkonen!

Yesterday's Grand Prix took place in the beautiful Monte Carlo, Monaco. As always, it was entertaining and nothing less than spectacular. But, every Grand Prix comes with some drama... And this one was a doozey.
 
During the final laps, Sergio Perez had quite a battle with Kimi Raikkonen, and the two collided when Kimi edged Sergio into a wall. Kimi's car hit the McLaren, and pieces flew off of the Lotus. Kimi was furious during the race, calling Perez an "Idiot" over the team radio. After that, Perez was ordered by the McLaren team to retire, due to Brake Failure.
 
Kimi was only more angry after the race, when he ended up in 10th place. In an interview, Kimi bluntly said that Perez needed "To be punched in the face." In response to a question asking if the Lotus team would have a sit down with the McLaren driver. Kimi Raikkonen has taken it too far, making it sound like a physical threat towards Sergio.
 
Sergio is at no illegal fault for trying to pass Kimi during the race, and was not given an order to slow down, or not pass Kimi. He was only doing what he was supposed to be doing: Racing. Formula1 is a dangerous sport, and accidents happen. Kimi needs to calm down, and re-think what happened, for he is the one who shoved Perez into the wall. Perez is NOT responsible for the accident.
 
Earlier on in the race, Perez made an incredible pass on team mate, Jenson Button, and Button praised him afterwards, for doing so. The two seem to be getting along very well since Perez's joining of the McLaren team/family this season.
 
So, great job to Sergio and Jenson. McLaren is getting stronger!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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