Force India now a ‘force’ to reckon with
If there is one team which has suddenly captured the imagination of F1 fans, it has to be Force India. From being also rans to almost there the whole of last year, they have got a new lease of life, if the results from the last two GPs are any indication.
At the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, Giancarlo Fisichella finished 2nd, the first ever points finish for the team, and if Sutil had been careful during his pit stop at Monza on Sunday, this could have been a second straight podium for them. Instead, he finished 4th. The Brawns of course roared again with a 1-2 finish, Barrichello winning the race and Button coming in 2nd, while Kimi came in 3rd.
Sutil seems to have a history with Kimi, who knocked him out of the Monaco Grand Prix last year as he was running 4th. A similar thing happened this year also, though on a different circuit. Here of course, he could not overtake Kimi on account of the latter’s car being equipped with KERS. To top it all, Kimi almost stalled at the pit lane, but Sutil himself goofed, knocking a couple of the pit crew as he came in.
As a result, they exited the pit lane at the same position they were in before, an opportunity lost for Sutil.
Fisichella of course has now moved to Ferrari and had a poor show, but his replacement at Force India, Vitantonio Luzzi put in a strong performance during qualifying and even got them within sniffing distance of having both cars in the points, before being forced to retire on Lap 22 thanks to a mechanical failure.
Considering each point is worth $$$, these two results must have come as a godsend for bossman Vijay Mallya, and for sure, I’m gonna be following this team far more closely than before.





