(Sahara Force India Formula One Team)
The Sahara Force India F1 Team head to Malaysia this weekend following a solid start to their 2014 campaign after Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez gave the Silverstone outfit a double point's finish in Albert Park last weekend.
Team boss Dr Vijay Mallya had this to say about the start of the season: 'Australia was definitely a respectable start, without doubt, and probably the best start we've had since I took over the team'
He believes that the fact that the team were able to get both cars to the finish in Australia was a good way to start the season.
The team head to Sepang having failed to bring both cars home there last year after both Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil suffered wheel nut failures. However the team will not suffer similar issues this season as they brought in new pit-stop procedures. The weather in Malaysia will play a key role in the result of the Grand Prix as the race takes place during the Malaysian monsoon season.
Mallya believes the new VJM07 is competitive as both drivers finished in the points. He admitted over the course of the Australian Grand Prix that he was not a fan of the new sound that Formula One has however the first race of the season proved to be very popular as the result was wide open.
Speaking about the new car Nico Hulkenberg stated: 'It's not too dissimilar to last year. It's a bit slower because of the regulations and you feel the loss of down force compared to 2013.
When asked what can be expected in Sepang Hulkenberg said: 'Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics (Compared to Melbourne) and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation'.
Sergio Perez is hoping for a more straight forward race in Malaysia following a tough weekend in Australia: 'It was really a shame. We had a great start and a great first few corners and we were up to tenth place. Then Gutierrez locked his rears and came from nowhere. I actually saw him in my mirrors, but I was already turning into the corner once he hit me I was just a passenger. There was not much I could do, I got a puncture and had to pit'.
When asked about this weekend's race Perez said: 'I believe Malaysia can be a very good race for us. Lets 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 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'.
In 2012, Perez secured his first every Formula One podium in only his second Grand Prix start when he finished the Malaysian Grand Prix in second place for the Sauber F1 Team just 2.2 seconds behind race winner Fernando Alonso.
We don't have long to wait to see how Sahara Force India get in Sepang as on track action gets underway on Friday morning.
Are you a Nico Hulkenberg fan? If so then this is something special for you. Team Nico Hulkenberg a fan twitter page dedicated to 'The Hulk' are running project and need your help. So what are they looking for? Well if you would like to share how much you support Hulkenberg and are on Twitter then follow this link: https://twitter.com/TeamHulkenberg/status/448523586043920385/photo/1
The deadline for submissions is Sunday 27th April.
©Ben Johnston 2014
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