Date:12/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/12/stories/2008071256862000.htm

Sport - Racing : Motor

Frustrating time for Force India

Hockenheim (Germany): A fuel system failure and an accident marred Force India’s final day of pre-German Grand Prix testing, curtailing Giancarlo Fisichella’s stint to 74 laps at the Hockenheimring here.

Fisichella worked on aero development, tyre comparisons besides establishing a set-up for next week’s German Grand Prix.

The Italian’s quickest lap was just one second slower than the day’s fastest time but he managed to complete only 74 laps over the day.

The programme was curtailed in the morning following a fuel system failure and an accident in the afternoon. Both caused some downtime but the team managed to complete the overall test programme.

“It was a bit frustrating we could not do more running. In the morning we had the technical problem and had to stop for some time, then in the afternoon I had an accident. The rear of the car went away and I just lost control through the stadium complex,” Fisichella rued.

“The car went across the road and there’s not much run off area there so I went into the wall. I’m fine, but the car was quite badly damaged. The guys did a good job to get it out again for the last 30 minutes. Overall we are making some small improvements and moving forward. We will have to see how they work next weekend,” he added. The team will now return to its Silverstone headquarters to reintegrate the test findings into its preparations for the German Grand Prix. — PTI