Force India Hulk up
The Pitstraight revealed on Thursday that Force India were set to announce Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg as their drivers for the 2012 season:
Although the timing proved to be a little out, our sources proved correct and the team have since announced that this will be their line-up.
The decision means that Adrian Sutil will be leaving the team he joined in 2006, when it was known as Midland F1, as a reserve driver. Sutil was promoted to a race seat in 2007 when the team was rebranded as Spyker, and stayed with the team when Vijay Mallya bought it ahead of the 2008 season. His 9th place in 2011 secured a position as the ‘best-of-the-rest’, beaten only by the drivers at the top teams.
| Year | Points | Championship Position |
| 2007 | 1 | 19th |
| 2008 | 0 | 20th |
| 2009 | 5 | 17th |
| 2010 | 47 | 11th |
| 2011 | 42 | 9th |
The way is now clear for Sutil to replace Rubens Barrichello at Williams for 2012.
Nico Hulkenberg was one of the rookie stars of the 2010 season, securing pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix for the Williams team, before being ousted in favour of Pastor Maldonado and his Venezuelan bolivars. Since then the young German has been the reserve driver for Force India, participating in Friday morning practice sessions for the teams.
Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal:
“I am delighted to present our line-up for the 2012 season. In Paul and Nico we have two extremely talented drivers with tremendous potential.
“I think Paul caught the eye of everybody in the pit lane during his rookie season. His speed, maturity and racecraft confirmed that we were right to believe in him and we look forward to working with him again next year.
“As for Nico, we identified him as a rising star at the end of 2010 and chose to evaluate him during the course of this season. Despite having only limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012.
“Our new line-up means we say ‘goodbye’ to Adrian Sutil, who has been with the team since we entered the sport. He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him well for the future.”
Paul Di Resta:
“I’m really looking forward to my second season of Formula One and continuing to grow and develop with Sahara Force India. I’ve said all along that I love being part of this team: they are ambitious, hungry for success and we work well together. I’m really excited about 2012 and there is a real sense of belief that we can continue to push the top teams and take another step forward. I’d also like to thank the team for all their hard work this year and for all the support they’ve given me. I’ll take some time out over the next few weeks to recharge my batteries and hopefully come back even stronger in 2012.”
Nico Hulkenberg:
“I’m obviously delighted to be staying with Sahara Force India and to be given the chance to race next year. It wasn’t easy to watch from the sidelines this season, but I did my best to help the team and show what I was capable of. I’m extremely motivated for 2012 and would like to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me this chance. I’m keen to get down to work over the winter to develop our new car and help the team build on this year’s achievements. The first test in Jerez can’t come soon enough.”
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Picture Credits: Force India
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