Force India could only came away from Hungary with their first points at the track since 2011 but the race promised much more, a single point being all they ended up with as Nico Hulkenberg finished tenth.
Hulkenberg was on the back foot immediately when he dropped positions on lap one. After his first pit stop he was stuck behind Felipe Massa and Jolyon Palmer and stopped again five laps later for a set of soft tyres that took him to the end.
“I am not overly happy with my afternoon because it was a pretty difficult race for us," he said. "It’s so hard to overtake here and as soon as you get close to the car in front, you lose so much downforce and you destroy your tyres.
"That was the story of my race. I lost a place to Palmer at the second pit stop – that was my mistake actually and I hold my hand up and apologise to the team. During the pit stop I let the clutch slip and that made the car move, so the boys couldn’t fit the tyres properly and it cost us a little time."
Sergio Perez wound up in eleventh. His race was hampered after he was caught out by the changing conditions in qualifying which meant he dropped out in Q2. Opting for the medium tyres didn't work out and an extra pit stop cost him a lot of time as the team were not ready for him.
"A tough race today," he stated. "We were planning to do a one-stop race, but the performance was not there on the medium tyres and the car was sliding around under me.
"So we decided to switch to the two-stop, the team called me in, but when I arrived in the pit lane the team was not expecting me.I’m pleased that Germany is coming up next week and the positive thing is that we have a strong car with good race pace.”
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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