Sahara Force India went to Singapore knowing that even a single point would make 2014 their most successful season ever, but knowing they still have to fight for every point in their ongoing battle with McLaren.
While it was far from a trouble-free outing for either driver, the team was pleased to finish the weekend with both drivers scoring a combined eight points at a track that their car is not well-suited to.
Sergio Perez left Singapore feeling particularly pleased, finishing in P7 despite losing his front wing after tangling with a defensive Adrian Sutil. The aftermath saw the safety car brought out for close to 20 minutes.
“Today was one of those results where the race gives you a fantastic feeling: it’s more than just scoring the points – it’s about how you gained the result,” said Perez.
“Everything gets thrown at you but you don’t give up and come back strongly to get the points.”
Tyre degradation was a defining feature of this race. Nico Hülkenberg was one of the drivers who found himself struggling for grip in the closing laps.
“After the safety car I had to do a 30-lap stint on the soft tyres and like most of the cars ahead I was running out of grip towards the end of the race,” said Hülkenberg
“With hindsight it would have been better to pit again for fresh tyres and we probably could have finished even higher up, but it’s always a difficult decision for the team with the information we had at the time.
The good news is that we got two cars home in the points.”
And for Sahara Force India, two cars home in the points was enough to capitalise on McLaren’s disappointing performance. After Jenson Button’s car failed eight laps from the finish, Kevin Magnussen was forced to fight overheating issues in the cockpit to claim McLaren’s only point of the night. Laughing off reports that he had to be treated for burns, Magnussen said it was the hardest he ever had to work for a point.
Coming in to the final five races Force India have asserted a strong claim to fifth place in the Constructors’ standings. While fourth place is realistically out of reach, Force India again showed the mettle that has lead to their biggest-ever pints haul, and will gives the team an important advantage coming in to the final five races.
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