Posted on 13th December 2014
Just like last season, Force India has retained the sixth place in the Constructors Championship behind their rivals McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull and Mercedes.
After finishing in sixth place in the 2013 constructors championship and having to concede fifth place to McLaren during the second half of the 2013 season to ensure they were better placed than most to benefit from the overhaul in technical regulations for this year, the Force India team were hopeful that the decision to place more emphasis on the following season would bring better results for them this season.
This decision was taken by Force India due to the fact that the team would be running with the Mercedes power unit in 2014 and also it was heavily rumoured in the paddock at that stage in the 2013 season to have a considerable advantage over engine rivals Renault and Ferrari.
In the past few seasons, the Force India team are often described by pundits and fans as a team which “punch above its weight†year after year. And that is never truer than in 2014, especially in the first half of the season. This season has seen Force India replacing both of their drivers from the previous season for the first time in the team's six year history and secured the services of Nico Hulkenberg once more who switched to midfield rivals Sauber for the 2013 season and bringing in Sergio Perez from McLaren to partner him thereby putting together two of the most highly-rated talents in recent seasons and probably forming Force India's most exciting driver line up.
Pre-season testing seemed to show a Force India car that much like previous seasons gone by; would be comfortably one of the leading midfield runners in terms of performance on the track, but with Force India being equipped with a Mercedes engine that was superior in both reliability and horsepower after the first pre-season test, showed a clear indication to the paddock that the team was in a position once again to punch above their weight and this could serve them well in potentially causing a few surprises throughout 2014.
At the season opener in Melbourne, with both Hulkenberg (who beat his record of making it past the first racing lap at the Albert Park circuit) scoring points in sixth place while Perez managed to get a point onboard after being promoted to tenth place following Daniel Ricciardo's exclusion from the race started their season in the best possible way they could have imagined.
In the next few races, Force India's distinctive race strategies put them in a great points-scoring position that they made the most of. An example of this can be seen in the Malaysian and Austrian Grand Prixs where Hulkenberg adopted a two-stop strategy to finish 5th in Malaysia while Perez' one-stop strategy in Austria saw him climb up to 6th from 15th on the grid.
These strategies that the team used during these two races showed their car's strength in making best use of the tyres when need be and this did make up for the car's weakness over a single-lap relative to race pace despite Hulkenberg being able to reach Q3 more often than not.
The big surprise of Force India's season came in Bahrain, where Perez capitalised on his best grid start of the year and alongside another differing race strategy and some help from Hulkenberg fending off the Red Bulls in the latter stages of the race to come home in third place and grab the team's first podium since the Belgian Grand Prix in 2009 with Hulkenberg following behind in fifth place which saw Force India record their highest points total in a single race and that is unquestionably the high point of their season this year.
More of the same should have followed in the Canadian Grand Prix, with Perez running as high as second place when set to pounce on race leader Nico Rosberg and his brake problems before experiencing similar problems himself and a likely podium finish (along with a possible race win) which faded as he dropped behind Ricciardo and crashed out dramatically on the last-lap after his high-speed collision with Felipe Massa at Turn 1 of the circuit.
In the first half of the season, Force India reached the chequered flag with points added to their tally in every race but the last in Hungary, which brought more disappointment with the team's first double retirement of the season, and ran as high as 2nd in the constructors championship behind the conquering Mercedes team.
With the team however admitting that tracks like Spain and Monaco were ill-suited to the car they still came away from those tracks with solid and credible results with Perez and Hulkenberg finishing ninth and tenth at Barcelona and Hulkenberg and Perez finishing in fifth and ninth in Monaco.
For a team that is allegedly budgeted as the third lowest on the grid at this present time, the two feats of scoring points in all but one race and being second best to a supreme Mercedes at one point could not be ignored in the first half of the season and they were hoping to keep this momentum going into the second half of the season to keep the pressure on their rivals McLaren for fifth in the Constructors Championship.
In the second half of the season, Force India struggled to keep the pressure on McLaren to retain fifth in the Constructors Championship as McLaren brought upgrades quicker to the track than Force India did. After the summer break, both drivers scored in Belgium with an eighth place finish for Perez and a tenth place finish for Hulkenberg.
At Monza, Hulkenberg struggled to extract pace from his car and finished in twelfth place where his team mate was comfortable with the car and finished in seventh place. During the flyaway and final part of the 2014 season, both Hulkenberg and Perez struggled to match the progress of the McLaren team.
They both managed to score points in Singapore and Japan but only scored points with Perez in Russia. At Austin, the team suffered a double retirement but bounced back in Brazil with a strong drive from Hulkenberg to finish in eighth place and then both drivers scoring at the final race in Abu Dhabi with a sixth place for Hulkenberg and a seventh place finish for Perez.
It has been clear during this season that Force India have had a strong, competitive and consistent car (especially in the first half of the season, where they was ahead of McLaren in the Constructors Championship, but due to lack of finances alongside taking the wrong aerodynamic direction with their car in the second half of the season, they struggled to extract the pace and performance needed to keep the fifth position in the Constructors Championship ahead of their rivals McLaren who brought the upgrades at the right time.
Driver by Driver Review
Nico Hulkenberg – 96 points /9th in the Driver's championship
The 2014 season once again saw Nico Hulkenberg outperform his team mate Sergio Perez in the Drivers Championship by 37 points. Even though Hulkenberg has been beaten in qualifying regularly by Perez this season, he has finished more races than him showing his consistency when it matters.
During the course of the season, Hulkenberg has been challenged and even outperformed by his team mate in selected races but has shown overall that to me he is more than capable of beating Perez when he has the car to do so and that he is more than talented enough to be at one of the top teams in the sport if the call should come in future seasons.
This season saw Hulkenberg rejoining Force India in 2014 in a move that's seen by many pundits and fans as a sideways one after being overlooked by the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus for a race seat. While building on his eye-catching performances for Sauber at the back end of last season, his performances this season have been similar but seem to have gone unnoticed given the surprises of other drivers and teams which is a shame.
But with Hulkenberg not qualifying in the top ten in a Force India that is not particularly strong on one-lap pace and consistently in the first half of the season scoring points in every race up until Hungary, where a rare mistake with him making contact with team-mate Perez ultimately forced him into retirement, he has shown during this season once again just how talented he is and if he has the car underneath him, he can deliver just as well as any other driver on the grid today.
Hulkenberg managed to start the season well by ending his unlucky stint at the Albert Park circuit with a sixth place finish and finishing fifth in Malaysia where his team mate Sergio Perez was promoted to tenth in Australia due to Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the race and gearbox failure for Perez in Malaysia.
The next few races in Bahrain, China, Spain and Monaco have seen him come off second best to Perez on race day (especially in Bahrain, Spain and Austria) but he still managed to pick up useful points for the team with a fifth place in Bahrain from twelfth place on the grid compared to the third place finish for Perez, a sixth place finish in China ahead of Perez who finished in ninth and a tenth place finish just behind a ninth placed Perez in Spain.
But in Monaco despite a difficult qualifying session, Hulkenberg made up for this starting in eleventh place and battling with way through the grid and even pulling out a superb pass on Kevin Magnussen into Portier on his way to an impressive fifth place. Hulkenberg then finished ahead of Perez in Canada in fifth place where Perez finished eleventh after his last lap incident with Felipe Massa.
As we headed into the summer break, Hulkenberg lost out to Perez in Austria who finished in sixth compared to his ninth place but he did finish ahead of his team mate Perez at Silverstone and Germany with a seventh place finish even if both drivers did not finish in Hungary and suffered Force India's first double retirement of the season with Hulkenberg being responsible for this and ending his successive points tally of the season so far.
But at this stage of the season, Hulkenberg managed to solidify the team's place among the top 5 in the Constructors Championship and again showed his credentials of out-driving the car and showing just how talented he really is as a racing driver.
The second half of the season has been a mixed bag for Hulkenberg as a result of the Force India taking the wrong direction with improving the car. Hulkenberg finished behind Perez at Belgium, Monza and Singapore with a tenth place finish at Spa, two places behind his team mate, finished in twelfth place at Monza, seven places behind his team mate and finished in ninth place in Singapore, two places behind Perez.
However in the latter stages of the season, Hulkenberg bounced back as best as he could and outperformed Perez. Hulkenberg finished ahead of Perez in Japan, Brazil and Abu Dhabi with two eighth place finishes in Japan and Brazil and a sixth place finish in Abu Dhabi. But Perez finished ahead of him at Sochi with a tenth place finish compared to an unlucky twelfth place finish for Hulkenberg and also both drivers suffered retirements in Austin with Hulkenberg suffering an engine failure and Perez suffering damage after an first lap accident with Sauber driver Adrian Sutil.
It's a blessing in disguise that Lotus preferred Pastor Maldonado and his huge amount of money and supposed “talent†instead and that Hulkenberg opted not to remain with Sauber, with the aforementioned teams having experienced a season where they've gone backwards and had their worst season since entering the sport in 1993.
It may have not have been the move that Hulkenberg or the fans were expecting but it has proven to be a move that has worked out for the best for his career at the moment by returning to Force India this season and also staying with the team for next season which may have kept some hope of him getting a drive for a top team in the near future, while also racing for Porsche in Le Mans next season too.
Even though Hulkenberg has had a mixed 2014 season in terms of results, he should be proud of everything he has achieved this year, and if history is anything to go by, Hulkenberg will build upon his performance this season and will make sure that his performance in 2015 will be even better, provided he has the car underneath him to do so and the chance to deliver presents itself.
Sergio Perez – 59 points /10th in the Driver's Championship
The 2014 season once again saw Sergio Perez outperform his new team mate Nico Hulkenberg in the Drivers Championship by 37 points. Perez has finished ahead of Hulkenberg in qualifying but he has not finished more races than him due to being prone to incidents with opening laps in Australia, Monaco and Silverstone as well occasional unreliability and generally struggling to get to grips with the Force India that are the main reasons for the Mexican not being able to show the consistency his team-mate Hulkenberg has exercised effectively during the course of the 2014 season.
During the course of the season however, Hulkenberg has been challenged and even outperformed by Perez in selected races but this has shown overall that to me that he is more than capable of beating Hulkenberg when he has the car to do so and that he can be just as talented as him when he does not make mistakes on the circuit.
With Perez being wrongfully terminated by McLaren after just one season to pave the way for rookie Kevin Magnussen, Force India has become the place for Perez to show McLaren that he is still talented enough to be in the sport.
His performances in the opening few races of the season have fluctuated, from being promoted to tenth place in Australia after Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the race compared to Hulkenberg finishing in sixth place, to not starting in Malaysia where Hulkenberg finished in a strong fifth to grabbing a stunning podium in Bahrain with Hulkenberg finishing in fifth to being brought back down to earth in China having to perform a recovery drive to scrap a ninth place after starting a lowly 17th, where his team mate finished in sixth place.
In next few races, Perez managed to outperform Hulkenberg, in Spain and Austria by finishing in ninth place, in Spain ahead of his team mate in tenth place and finishing in a brilliant sixth place in Austria ahead of Hulkenberg in ninth place. However, Hulkenberg outperformed Perez in Monaco and Canada with strong drives to claim two fifth places where Perez finished in ninth place in Monaco and eleventh place in Canada after a last lap incident with Williams driver Felipe Massa where he on course for a podium finish.
However the last race before the summer break in Hungary did its best to sum up Perez' first half of the 2014 season and explains why Hulkenberg had over double the number of points: this is due to being hit by car problems in qualifying especially unlike Hulkenberg and greater exposure to incidents when caught out by the wet astroturf on the track and crashing out on the final corner during the race.
With the team suffering a double retirement in Hungary due to Hulkenberg colliding with Perez, Perez did fight back several times in the second half of the season to beat Hulkenberg. Perez outperformed Hulkenberg in Belgium, Italy and Singapore with an eighth place finish and two seventh place finishes compared to Hulkenberg who finished in tenth in Belgium, twelfth in Italy and ninth in Singapore.
In the latter stages of the season however, Hulkenberg regularly outperformed Perez with an eight place in Japan compared to Perez's tenth place finish, Perez finishing in fifteenth place in Brazil compared to Hulkenberg who finished in eighth place and Perez finishing one place behind Hulkenberg in Abu Dhabi. But Perez did manage to finish ahead of Hulkenberg at Sochi with a tenth place finish but both drivers suffered a double retirement once again at Austin due to Perez sustaining damage to his car after his accident with Sauber driver Adrian Sutil and Hulkenberg's engine failing during the race.
But having considered quitting the sport after being hung out to dry by McLaren this season, Perez has been given rightly a second chance to showcase why he was (and still is) among the talented and has personally settled into Force India nicely whilst giving away glimpses of his talent along the way.
By regularly scoring points along with Hulkenberg and being able to successfully dial in the car for qualifying shows despite being prone to accidents, occasional unreliability and general struggles to get to grips with the Force India car being the main reasons for the Mexican not being able to show the consistency his team-mate Hulkenberg has shown this season especially in races where he holds the edge.
Underneath all the troubles have been mature, opportunistic drives in Bahrain and Austria, where he adopted the unconventional one-stop strategies, thus displaying the art of tyre preservation he was renowned for showing in his Sauber days that has enabled him to put himself in strong positions to achieve the good results he did during the season which included getting the team's first podium in four years.
But if Perez can learn anything from this season, it is that he has just as much talent to take the fight and competition to Hulkenberg, he does however need to ensure that he thinks a lot more about trying to overtake drivers especially in the first laps of a Grand Prix and stay patient until an opportunity arises to pass a rival on the track later in the races.
If Perez can build upon this, I can see him and Hulkenberg battling in 2015 regularly for strong points finishes and podiums if they have the car underneath them to do so and Perez could improve once again as a driver as a result of this and show why McLaren were wrong to get rid of him last season.
In conclusion, as far as the Force India team is concerned as a whole, they should be proud of what they have achieved in 2014. With the first half of the season showing despite a few encounters along the way, they had a competitive, consistent and reliable car to battle the midfield and get strong points out of Grand Prix time and time again.
To see Perez clinch Force India's first podium in four years is a fantastic achievement for both the team and for Perez himself. In the race, they showed to the paddock that they have the potential to achieve this success if everything comes together during a weekend and this is something that the team can build upon going into the 2015 season.
But the second half of the season showed that Force India did achieve some strong results despite not having a dominant car like the Mercedes works team. They may not have the resources of the likes of McLaren and Ferrari to keep McLaren behind them in the second half of the season, ultimately, they can hold their heads high and should be proud of what they achieved their best ever season in the sport.
Throughout 2014, Hulkenberg was the more consistent driver for the team during the races than his team mate, but it was Perez with the prized accolade for the team and performing better than Hulkenberg in qualifying, this provides the team with a strong platform to build upon and try to improve upon next season.
With Force India's Team Principal Vijay Mallya declaring his happiness that both of his drivers will be staying with the team next season, all the team need to do in my eyes is to provide both of their drivers with yet another strong, consistent, competitive and reliable car for 2015.
And if Force India can provide both of their drivers with this, Hulkenberg and Perez may once again surprise pundits and again in 2015. With two young, experience and talented drivers, the future is looking extremely bright for the Force India team and anything can be achieved if they are able to put everything together in a race weekend.
Sarah Jones
