Yeongam: Force India will look to leave behind the Japan disappointment and improve their position in the constructors' championships with a few car upgrades when they hit the brand new Yeongam circuit for the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday.
Both drivers - Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi - failed to finish in the Japan leg of the Formula One Championship but with a few upgrades on the anvil, team principal Vijay Mallya is hopeful of scoring points this weekend.
"We were disappointed by the Japanese event. We didn't make the most of qualifying and we had a double retirement in the race. We've got some work to do to maintain our advantage in the constructors' championship," said chairman and team principal Mallya.
"We've put a lot of effort into Korean Grand Prix. We've got some changes to front wing and a small mechanical update that we didn't use in Suzuka because of the weather. We are also looking at introducing some new aero tweaks to strengthen performance, but of course we want to make sure any effort is targeted and will give a genuine improvement," he said.
"It's a new track ... a big challenge. We've tried to gather us much information on both the facility and the area in advance to make it as smooth as possible. Both drivers have been in the simulator to learn the layout and the team will fly out earlier than usual to get used to the area, the track," he added.
Sutil, who was on the simulator of the circuit earlier this week, fancies an opportunity for overtaking in the race.
"I drove the Yeongam circuit on the simulator earlier this week to get a head start. It looks as though it is a good circuit with plenty of interesting corners and sections that could provide some overtaking opportunities. I would say, overall it's a medium-speed circuit," he said.
"We've got to do better in qualifying this race and then of course, finish. It was a disappointment not to get to the end (in Japan) as the car has been reliable this year, but it just makes me more determined to get points this time out, both for myself and for the team," said Sutil.
Liuzzi is looking ahead for a finish at the new circuit after two very short races in Singapore and Japan.
"I now can't wait to get out there in Korea to get a proper race. There was nothing I could do about the outcome of my Japanese Grand Prix. I had had a really good start and I was already past five or six cars as I went into the first corner, but then suddenly I saw Massa coming across the circuit at me like a rocket. The real shame is that at that point I was in a brilliant position for the race and we could have scored some very good points," he said.
"We've got a couple of new tweaks on the car as well that will make the programme even more charged. Plus, I will have another chassis to use in Korea and for the last three races, as my car was very badly damaged in Japan."
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