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Vijay Mallya
Q&A
Force India scored its first top 10 finish in Spain when
Giancarlo Fisichella finished 10th, having run as high as
eighth at one stage in the race. However it was a disappointing
day for his team mate Adrian Sutil, who made a great start
and passed several cars before getting involved in a first
lap accident.
Vijay Mallya gave us his thoughts on the weekend.
Q: How pleased were you to see Giancarlo running
as high as eighth at Barcelona?
'I was not expecting an eighth place finish when I saw the
car in eighth, but I am very pleased that we made the top
10 at the end of the race. We're getting better and better
in every race. It was a shame that Adrian could not have a
full race, as both cars started off very well. But these things
happen in racing, if you start further down the grid, you
have to take some risks; sometimes they work out very well
and sometimes they don't. This is racing.'
Q: How important was it to get a decent finish like
that?
'Nothing is better than a top 10 result. We've been in this
game for five months, and being in the top 10 is a great feeling.
It's a feeling that makes us believe in ourselves, and the
fact that we're making progress. We shouldn't underestimate
this achievement - this team was getting better all the time
last year, however regular top 12 finishes were something
of a rarity. I hope this year we can make it a permanent trend.'
Q: Are you a little frustrated by qualifying and
always just missing Q2?
'I was disappointed with qualifying after such a strong practice
on Friday and Saturday morning. Clearly what I'm noticing
is that we're not able to get good qualifying pace out of
the car, and we need to investigate that thoroughly. But our
race pace has always been decent. People have commented on
it, and we showed it again in Spain. We are looking into why
we cannot reproduce the lap times in qualifying now and I'm
confident we will get to the bottom of it. We have to - if
we can start higher up, the chances are we will finish higher
up.'
Q: Once again Giancarlo was able to keep quicker
cars behind him. Was that very satisfying?
'Absolutely. In the last race he kept Lewis Hamilton behind
him, and this time he kept Nick Heidfeld in a BMW behind him
for almost eight laps. It was great to see, and it was great
brand exposure for us too!'
Q: Are we really seeing his experience pay off?
'I cannot underestimate in any way the benefits that Giancarlo
has brought to the team. That's exactly what we were lacking,
that's exactly what we've got now, and it's absolutely brilliant.'
Q: Adrian hasn't had much luck with four retirements
so far...
'No, Adrian hasn't had too much luck! It's unfortunate, but
I am sure that his luck will turn, as luck does. He's got
a lot of talent, he's quick, and I think he can do a good
job for us. What we have to remember is that Giancarlo is
approaching his 200th Grand Prix, Adrian has competed in just
over 20, that's a 10th of the number of his team mate. We
cannot reasonably expect him to know everything Giancarlo
does, but the benefit of having Giancarlo there is that Adrian
can learn and, in turn, grow and develop into a very valuable
asset in the future.'
Q: Other teams brought their big update packages
to Spain, and you didn't drop back from the midfield pack.
Was that encouraging?
'We haven't dropped back, but we do need to sort out our qualifying
pace, which is our Achilles heel at the moment. If we start
a few places up the grid we won't get into traffic or be a
little accident prone like we are when starting from the back.
This is just the start for us though; nobody expected us to
be as competitive as we are. We've been on the grid for little
over five months and look how far we have come. We are deploying
all resources to improve now. No one expects miracles, but
the fact we have qualified in the top 17, the fact we finished
in the top 12 in Bahrain and Malaysia and now in the top 10
in Spain shows we are a genuine midfield contender now, not
a backmarker. Of course the field is incredibly tight though,
with at least 10 cars within a couple of tenths of each other.
It's a bitter contest now where everything counts, but I am
delighted to see we are in that game.'
Q: And how has the reaction at home in India been?
'Absolutely phenomenal so far. TV ratings are up, press coverage
is up and F1 has never been more popular. We have 15 - 16,000
members of the Club Force site we established for fans to
network with each other and it's all happened very quickly.
F1 in India 10 years ago was too expensive, too glamorous,
too competitive and too high tech. Indians thought they could
never reach it or touch it, but as the middle class grew and
disposable incomes increased by the day, the time was ripe
to enter the sport. It was the right decision and we are looking
to grow the fan base even more.'
Q: Are you actively looking for an Indian driver,
or Indian personnel to bolster the team?
'I respect each and every individual regardless of nationality
or class, and in my team I want the best people available.
I have no doubt that in a population of 1.2 billion people
we will find a Lewis Hamilton somewhere, but this will take
time and experience. That's why we have Giancarlo Fisichella
at the moment, but we are willing to invest in finding Indian
talent and nuture him or her to the highest levels.'
Q: You are obviously a very busy man with your other
businesses and ventures. How are you finding time to juggle
everything?
'I am the leader of the team and I need to lead it from the
front. The fact that the team knows I am busy, but I am still
there shows I am dedicated to this particular project, I do
not just want to use it as a toy or a hobby. When we are more
established, perhaps I won't have to spend so much time with
the team, but for now I want to be involved. I believe in
creating an atmosphere where people are given responsibility
and can thrive. When they have shown they are capable of leading
themselves, this is time for me to step back and let them
move forward. I will always run the show, but people have
to be accountable.'
Q: And how are plans shaping up for the Indian Grand
Prix?
'The Indian Grand Prix has been approved for 2010 and plans
are underway. Hermann Tilke will design the track and we are
confident it will be ready for the scheduled date. It is in
our interests to ensure it goes well, it will be an awesome
achievement to have an Indian team on the grid for the Indian
Grand Prix. Moreover we want to be on the podium, this has
to be the ultimate goal.'
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