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Saturday, July 26, 2014

1 Racing Mind 2014 Formula 1 Mid-Season Report: Sahara Force India

Photo Credit: Sahara Force India

 

Sahara Force India


Team Score: B

Nico Hulkenberg: B+
Sergio Perez: C+

 

Force India has been at the middle of the Formula 1 running order for years with a chance at the occasional podium. In 2014, the team is still not ready to fight for race victories but does have consistent pace. Lucking out with the Mercedes-Benz powerplant, the Force India operation also exercised some clever tire strategy in races that has been favourable to their finishing results. The team stands competitively in fifth place in the constructors' points.
 
Force India's driver line-up was completely revised for 2014 with two young pilots who can potentially be future race winners. Continuing to show talent and consistency in Formula 1 he showed last season at Sauber, Nico Hulkenberg has driven the 27 Force India-Mercedes to a points-paying position in all 10 grand prix races so far (only him and Fernando Alonso can claim that honour). Hulkenberg is still searching for his first career Formula 1 podium and it may likely come before the end of this season. Departing from McLaren after an unfortunate outing with a slow car, Sergio Perez has been aggressively trying to demonstrate his driving was not the reason he was dismissed from the high-end operation. In Bahrain, Perez captured a podium spot with a third place behind the factory Mercedes-Benz cars. However, the 2014 season for the Mexican driver also contains a number of mistakes including a high-profile crash in the late stage of the Canadian Grand Prix resulting a grid place penalty being levied against Perez.
 
Ingredients for Second-Half of 2014: The customer Mercedes-Benz powerplant as well as the further execution of imaginative tire strategies should continue to work for the remainder of this season. A team that has neither been the fastest nor the slowest, Force India should be in position to snatch perhaps one or two podium positions in future races. With Hulkenberg and Perez demonstrating immense talent, the biggest trouble for the organization will be retaining either driver for an extended time in the sport.

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