Force India upgrade led to Monaco podium

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Force India's major upgrade introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix was a key factor in its podium in Monaco, according to Otmar Szafnauer.

Barcelona saw Force India deliver a new aerodynamic package for the VJM09, with the team having struggled in the opening races. Sergio Perez finished seventh while Nico Hulkenberg had also been running competitively before retiring. Monaco saw an even bigger step forward, with Perez finishing third and Hulkenberg sixth.

Asked if the result in Monaco was thanks to the upgrade, chief operating officer Szafnauer told F1i: “I think so.

"The upgrade was all about low speed corner downforce and grip and that’s what you need around Monaco. That’s what we had to fix on the car, high speed stuff is good anyway, so we've got a decent car under us that wherever we go we should be competitive.”

And Szafnauer is confident the upgrade has not detracted from the stronger aspects of the Force India.

“Yeah but we’re always good [in Canada]. We didn’t improve the low speed at the expense of high speed, we just added to the high speed strength.

“The next four or five races should be good for us.”

With deputy team principal Bob Fernley saying Force India failed to maximise its potential in the race in Monaco, Szanfauer agreed there was more on the table.

"I think there was a third and fourth in us had we played it right and probably Nico should have been third because he was ahead on track and he also had the choice of strategy. I think we just made the wrong call with Nico which opened the door for Checo."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.