• Indian Grand Prix

Sutil powerless to race Toro Rosso

Adrian Sutil picked up two points for ninth place at the Buddh International Circuit © Sutton Images

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• Report:
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• Race:
• Indian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Vijay Mallya
• |
• Adrian Sutil

• Teams:
• Racing Point

Adrian Sutil said that Toro Rosso was too quick for him in the Indian Grand Prix, and that ninth place was the best result he could get.

Sutil started head of both Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi in eighth place, but lost out to the pair during the first stint of the race, although Buemi would later retire and promote Sutil back to ninth. Sutil said that he didn't have the pace to challenge either of them, but that he was pleased to hold off Sergio Perez for ninth and secure two points in Force India's home race.

"It was quite a good race and I think we can be happy with the two points today," Sutil said. "In the early laps I struggled with the rear of the car, with a bit of oversteer, and could not hold off the Toro Rossos who were a bit quicker today. But in the second and third stint the car balance improved and I was able to keep the Sauber [Perez] behind me in the closing laps. We were also fortunate that Buemi retired, which gave me another position. I think ninth was probably the maximum today and I hope Vijay will have a smile on his face tonight."

Mallya was full of praise for Sutil, calling his drive "excellent" while also expressing his pride at scoring points in the inaugural race.

"Today's Indian Grand Prix was a great event and I hope that all the fans enjoyed the day as much as I did," Mallya said. "We targeted points and that's exactly what we delivered with Adrian's excellent drive to ninth. As for Paul, he performed well, but we went very aggressive with the strategy to cover the chance of a safety car. In the end it didn't work out, but we needed to cover our bases. These two points are important for our championship battle and I'm delighted that Sahara Force India will go down in the record books for scoring points in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix."

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