Motorsport India: The year that was

Motorsport India: The year that was

Force India made a definite impression in 2009. The good work by Fisichella at the Belgian GP has put the team on course for greater glory.

By Chetan Narula

When (and if) Force India goes on to become the top challengers in the fast world of Formula One, team owner Vijay Mallya will look back upon 2009 as the year when the team really started shifting gears. They may not have won a Grand Prix yet - after two years of racing - but the 2009 season has been nothing less than victorious for the only F1 team that carries the Indian tri-color.

It has had a lot to do with the plethora of rule changes that came into effect last season, all to make racing more exciting on the track. How much the FIA endeavour succeeded is debatable, but the direct result of the changes has been the bunching up of the whole field. So much so that at the Brazilian GP, the whole grid was locked within one second of each other for much of practice and qualifying!

Looking back further to 2008, Force India were the most improved team on the grid. They were the one team that brought new aerodynamic parts to almost all races before the last-third of the season, when they started concentrating on this year's challenger. But for Kimi Raikkonen losing control of his Ferrari, coming out of the tunnel at Monaco, the VJM01 would have scored its first points in its very first year on the fast lane.

Maybe that was the moment when Mallya decided to not buy Ferrari engines anymore. Jokes apart though, that was one of the many key decisions taken by the Force India management to go one step further in 2009 and leave nothing to chance. The other major decision was to switch to Mercedes engines and gear trains, as also becoming technology partners with McLaren.

Rain and Mallya's team have a special connection, especially when it comes to their German driver Adrian Sutil. Without trying too hard, he is able to mix it up with the front runners. It was the case in 2008 at Monaco and again at Shanghai in the Chinese GP, as early as the third race of the season. Conditions this time though were a lot worse, as incessant rain made the circuit look like a stream rather than a road of tar and concrete. Sutil aquaplaned to the barriers, hopes of a points-finish once more dashed.

Like any diligent worker, the team still went about its business making necessary aero changes. Though whatever changes any team made, and not just Force India, were nullified when the covers were lifted off the Brawn GP cars, rather their double-decker diffusers. For the three months from March onwards, it was all about the difference between cars having the diffusers and the ones without them. Not until Spain or even Turkey, did the rest of the field catch up.

But riding on Mercedes engines superior power, Force India were getting closer to their targets. Aero updates continued and more often than not, one or the other driver could mix it up well amongst the others on the grid; be it the fast starting Sutil or Giancarlo Fisichella opting for the heavy fuel strategy. The German GP was one where it almost came together as the home hero ran into points scoring position, only to crash into Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari (yes again!) but this time it wasn't the Finn's mistake. Rather it was Sutil's inability to sense a greater cause and control his aggression that undid him on this occasion.

It almost seemed as if to score points, Force India needed a calm head once in an advantageous position. That position was gained at Spa Francorchamps, easily the most free flowing circuit on the calendar where Force India's low drag, high aero efficiency and Mercedes engine boost came to the fore, working excellently with the Bridgestone slicks to make them the fastest car on the weekend. And so, Fisichella surprised one and all as Force India took their first ever pole for the Belgium GP.

Raikkonen is known to be the ‘King of Spa' and he demonstrated his prowess once again as he kept a superior car behind him for the entire of the race; his wrong-footed Ferrari staying ahead of the quicker Fisichella thanks to the KERS button, denying Force India their first ever F1 win. But one way or another, Force India were the moral winners as they cashed home eight championship points, their first in their small history at the pinnacle of motor-sport. It was also the team's first ever podium finish.

Sutil deserved more for his efforts and at the Italian GP, next up, he scored another five points securing fourth position. Fisichella moved onto greater things to join Ferrari for the remainder of the season and in his first race drive, Vitantonio Liuzzi also impressed at his home track in Monza. So much so, that both Sutil and Liuzzi have now been retained for the 2010 season as well, which marks some much-needed consistency for the team, in terms of drivers.

Twisty street circuits requiring high downforce meant that Force India struggled to garner any more points, but 13 from only their second season seems to be a decent haul. Especially considering that they were straight in contention with Toro Rosso who are backed by the huge resources at Red Bull, and to beat them is no mean achievement. The only question is where do they go from here, particularly in the 2010 season?

The answer lies in consistency, probably more important in this sport than in any other. The rules for next season stay more or less the same, with just the ban on refueling implying that teams have to work out their ballast and weight distribution of the car all over again, this time with full-race capacity fuel tanks. Force India are one of the select constructors who develop their cars throughout the season and more of that, coupled with Mercedes power, should be enough to bolster them throughout next year.

It is far too early to predict race wins for Force India, especially with powerhouses McLaren and Ferrari expected to bounce back after a poor 2009. But they won't be having those KERS buttons to aid them next season. So if Sutil or Liuzzi can do what Fisichella did this season at Belgium, we just might see a Force India a formidable team to reckon with.