Force India
Nico Hulkenberg
“The first race of the season is always a special occasion: a race you really look forward to for a long time. You have a new car to push to the limit in race conditions for the first time, you are often working with new people in the team and it’s the first occasion to spend a race weekend with them: there is always a lot to keep you excited in addition to the regular weekend activities. As a driver, the first race is very interesting – we are as curious as anybody to see where everyone really is compared to the others.
“I haven’t been very lucky in Melbourne in the past, but I have very good memories from last year’s race. We finished sixth in our first race with the VJM07 – and considering that I had never managed to finish more than one lap in Australia until then, that was a quite welcome development! It was a very good race and I hope we can have another one this year.”
Sergio Perez
“The Australian Grand Prix is one of my favourite races because it’s one of those events in which everything comes together: the excitement of a new season, a great track and a fantastic city.
“Albert Park is a special circuit and it’s great to get back to action on such a challenging track. Even though it is classified as a street circuit, it doesn’t really feel like one – there are only a few corners in which you get close to the walls. Driving on it, it feels like a permanent track, although if you make a mistake you realise pretty quickly how close the walls really are!
“There are many difficult corners and it is not easy to get a perfect lap here: turn one, in particular, is very technical and difficult also because you can’t really see the apex. It is a great feeling to get that corner right. In terms of set-up, you are mostly looking for front end grip and it is not easy to find the right balance for the car.
“Melbourne is the place where I had my first Formula One race. That’s a great memory that will stay with me forever. It’s my best memory from Melbourne so far, but I hope to refresh it with some new memories soon!”
Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“It’s great to get back to the racing. Melbourne in March is the perfect place to begin the season and one of my favourite cities. It’s also where the Force India story began eight years ago when we lined up on the starting grid of Albert Park for the very first time. Eight years and 131 races later, I feel very proud of the journey we’ve taken to establish our position in Formula One.
“We started our 2015 season in Mexico City six weeks ago when we launched our stunning new livery. I always thought the new colours would appeal to fans and I was very happy to see the VJM08 topping some polls on social media as the best looking car. The fans have spoken and they clearly have good taste!
“It’s no secret that we have faced some delays and challenges over the winter, but we’ve put that behind us and can now focus on the racing. When the VJM08 appeared in Barcelona it ran reliably from the very first moment and didn’t miss a beat during its 365 laps. To deliver such a solid performance out of the box was a fantastic achievement from everyone in the team and will stand us in good stead for the first race.
“As for our hopes in Melbourne, it’s difficult to make a prediction. In terms of mileage we are clearly behind the other teams so there is some ground to make up. Equally, the performance work we could do in Barcelona was quite limited. Until we run in qualifying trim and race conditions it’s hard to know where we are in terms of competitiveness. What I do know is that we will give it our best shot to come away with a result.”
Lotus
Romain Grosjean
“Albert Park is still one of my favourite Grand Prix circuits, so it will be good to get there and get the season started and there’s always a great atmosphere. It’s a fantastic track and the changing scenery as you drive through the park is incredible. Of course it’s a great country and I always enjoy visiting Australia, although as someone who loves their sleep, I still haven’t found the perfect strategy to counter jet-lag!
”We know it can be a tricky circuit; it’s not a permanent track so the surface and its layout gives us plenty to think about. We’re still quite early in our understanding of the E23 and how it works so we’ll be kept busy finding the correct set-up and getting everything working as we want it to. The weather can make things pretty difficult too – three years ago we had lots of rain and even had to finish qualifying on Sunday morning! Hopefully the weather will be good this year!
“You can say that everyone will be in the same position of not knowing what to expect, and with all the car changes I imagine there will be a few surprises! For us the weekend will be maximising the time on track, aiming to finish the race and getting the best result possible.”
Pastor Maldonado
“I’m very excited and I can’t wait to start racing again. We have a new car, it’s a new season, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been before, so we’re all eager to get back to action.
”I’m happy with what we’ve learnt this winter, and it’s a completely different situation from last year. We’re much stronger and better prepared for 2015. We’ve done more than 4,500km in testing so it’s interesting what we’ve learnt and we’ll be able to put everything into practice in Australia and with the development of the car.
”My feeling is this car is much better that last year’s car and not just in one area but with every aspect of the car. Obviously, it’s been good to work with the Mercedes power unit, but that’s just one part as the whole package is very promising and it looks to have good potential for the rest of the year.”
Federico Gastaldi, Lotus deputy team principal
“We’re eager and excited. The Australian Grand Prix represents the start of a new era for us as we embark on a new journey with Mercedes as a partner. We’ve seen positive things through pre-season testing so we can’t wait to be tested in the heat of competition. We have a dedicated team at Enstone who have been working very hard to put the challenges of last year behind us and they’ve created an exciting new car in the E23 Hybrid. We have two race drivers who are very motivated to perform and a great set-up and infrastructure which has enjoyed considerable success in the past. We’re ready to be fighting for points at every turn.
“Albert Park can be a difficult mistress as it’s a non-permanent race track and the Melbourne weather can always play tricks on you, but we want to run reliably and show strong pace across the weekend. If I see that and we open our points account I’ll consider that a good start to a new era for Enstone.”
Nick Chester, Lotus technical director
“We’re cautiously optimistic (heading to Albert Park). We have what looks to be a solid car, we’ve got the same power unit as the reigning champions – so we know its potential – and we’ve got every opportunity to start the season well.
“We know that the power unit is a big step forward. It has strong performance and response and it’s extremely reliable; we’ve only used one unit throughout testing. The chassis is also a step forward as the drivers can get a lot more from it and it’s easier to drive on the limit as well as being more predictable. We have a great platform from which to develop.
“There will be a few small changes [on the car since testing], but nothing drastic. There were new parts coming through testing and we know our preferred options for aero components after working on all the data generated. We expect to bring further new parts from Malaysia onwards.”
