Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Best qualifying result for Hulk

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Force India's Nico Hulkenberg gained access to Q3 for the first time this year, and secured 8th position on tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix grid.

The German enjoyed a ramp up in performance in the first two segments of qualifying, but admitted to be somewhat surprised to gain access to the fastest top 10, although he was very happy to do so..

"We did have a good progression in Q1 and Q2 but it was quite unexpected to reach Q3 as yesterday there were no signs of such a good performance."

Hulk didn't believe the result was justified by any fundamental increase in performance of the Force India VJN08 which remained unchanged from a week ago in China.

"It's definitely not the car. It's probably the conditions and the track as Bahrain, in the history of Force India, has always been quite kind to us. There's a lot of straight line braking, straight line traction and all this seems to suit us more than other places."

In spite of his solid qualifying run, Hulkenberg wasn't over confident on the prospect of scoring points in tomorrow's race.

"We're happy with where we are now but It's going to be a tough race. We have many quick cars starting behind us and that will put pressure on us. But the long runs yesterday didn't look too bad, we were almost on a similar pace than Sauber and Toro Rosso so I think it's going to be an interesting fight."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.