F1 2013 - Mid-Season Report

Force India (59 Points)

So far, Force India have had a very respectable season. Once a team that would languish at the back of the grid, they have seen themselves develop and are now the 5th quickest team on the grid, ahead of McLaren. However, the last few races have been disappointing. The change in construction of the Pirelli tires from a steel band to a Kevlar band, something Force India and Lotus were firmly against, has apparently seen he team slip back after a very disappointment display in Hungary. While it may be only a minor blip, Force India will be hoping to get back on track and fight for the bigger points positions.

Paul Di Resta - 7 (36 Points)

Paul€™s 3rd season and one where he is expected to beat his team mate. So far so good. Paul has had many ups and down this season, most notably a tremendous drive at Bahrain, choosing a different strategy to the rest of the field and claiming a terrific 4th to the various woes he has suffered in qualifying, missing out on Q2 four times already. That needs to improve. However, despite some poor decision making in qualifying, Paul is 5-5 with team mate Sutil and has claimed a significant haul of points for the team. With recent speculation about Raikkonen€™s and Alonso€™ futures, Paul may end up sneaking a drive at either Lotus or Ferrari. He just needs to keep his head up.

Adrian Sutil - 7 (23 Points)

Adrian Sutil has returned after one year out and so far he has made an impressive return. While his team-mate has delivered the majority of the team€™s points this season, Adrian has been the unluckier of the two, especially in race conditions. Mechanical faults meant early retirements in Malaysia and China but these have been back up with impressive performances, in particular a 5th place finish in Monaco and a 7th at Silverstone. While he has been getting himself into dicey fights during the race, his qualifying performance has been the highlight of his year. Two 6th places and Three 8th places represent a good return and he is equal with team mate 5-5 in the qualifying battle. His performances so far this season look set to land him another season at Force India. After Adrian brushes of the initial rust that a season out provides, the 2nd half of the season should prove a sterner challenge for Paul.