Force India v Williams – more of the same in Sao Paulo?
Force India will head to the Brazilian Grand Prix with high spirits after Vitantonio Liuzzi’s stunning 6th place finish at the Korean Grand Prix.
Scoring eight points in Korea will do Liuzzi’s confidence the world of good and it was also a result that the team needed. I cannot emphasise enough that finishing sixth in the Constructors ahead of Williams is so crucial for Force India.
The contest between Force India and Williams heads to Interlagos with nothing to choose between the two teams. Only three points separate them in the Constructors.
Buzzing
Prior to the Korean Grand Prix, Tonio was under pressure after failing to score any points since the Belgian Grand Prix. His qualifying form this season has been inconsistent and qualifying 18th at Korea was the last thing he wanted.
However coming through the field and finishing sixth was a superb result for Liuzzi and Force India.
The fact that Tonio finished ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenburg in the race will give Force India confidence that they can remain in front of their rivals for the remainder of the season.
Liuzzi’s team-mate Adrian Sutil failed to finish the race in Korea after colliding with Kamui Kobayashi. Sutil was then given a 5 place penalty for a causing the collision so its vital that Adrian qualifies well in Brazil.
Had Adrian not collided with Kobayashi, he probably would have gone on to score vital points for the team. But it was not to be.
The weather has certainly played its part in recent Brazilian Grand Prix’s and if it does turn out to be a wet weekend, then I’m sure Adrian and Tonio will fancy their chances of scoring more points.
Speculation
Its fair to say that there has been a lot of speculation surrounding both Sutil and Liuzzi. There have been rumours that Adrian may leave Force India to join either Renault or Mercedes.
If Sutil did leave, then his probable destination would be Renault. Michael Schumacher has enjoyed a small renaissance at Mercedes and seems to be back on track.
Vitaly Petrov has struggled for form since the Hungarian Grand Prix and if he fails to deliver in the final two races, then the Russian may not have a race seat for next season.
Vitantonio’s performance at Korea was just what the Italian needed. If Tonio manages to score points in the remaining races, then he may well be a Force India driver next year.
Reserve driver Paul di Resta has also been linked with a race seat at Force India. Will he be driving for the Silverstone-based team next year? Only time will tell and it will be interesting to see the Force India line-up for 2011.
Williams
Rubens Barrichello will want to do well in front of his home crowd this weekend so its vital that both Force India drivers get as close as they can to Williams in qualifying.
As well as Adrian and Vitantonio, there has been speculation about Nico Hulkenburg’s future at Williams. To be honest I find this hard to believe.
I agree that Hulkenburg did not have the best of starts. Nonetheless during the second half of the season, last years GP2 champion has come on strong and I personally feel he deserves to stay at Williams.
It is vital now that Force India score points in the final two races to stand a chance of staying in front of Williams. If Force India manage to do this, then for sure they will secure sixth in the Constructors.
In addition to scoring points from now till the end of the season, both Adrian and Liuzzi need to improve in qualifying.
In recent Grand Prix’s, Williams have held the advantage over Force India and both Barrichello and Hulkenburg have managed to get into Q3 which will have been a concern for the Force India faithful.
I’m just hoping Tonio can continue where he left off in Korea and that Sutil can once again be amongst the points. Both Force India drivers must qualify as close as they can to Barrichello and Hulkenburg or even get in front of them.
Fingers crossed Force India can come out on top in their 6th place contest against Williams.




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