SAKHIR: Karun Chadhok's F1 debut didn't last long but Vitantonio Liuzzi's ninth place finish earned Force India two invaluable points from the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix which was eventually won by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, on Sunday.
While the best Karun could have achieved was to complete the race, Adrian Sutil's 10th place on the starting grid had raised Force India hopes for a good finish.
The German driver, however, dropped out of point race after an opening lap scramble to eventually finish 12th and it was his Italian team-mate Liuzzi who took the onus on himself to ensure that the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit gained something from the season opener.
In contrast, Hispania driver Karun's Formula One debut was a blink-and-miss affair with the Indian forced into an early exit by a bump in the circuit.
"It was only my fifth lap of the circuit here and I found a bump I didn't know was there before and it launched me off," rued the Indian.
The 2010 season opener got off to a chaotic start and Sutil's VJM03 was among the cars that spun in the start, pushing the Force India driver down to the second last position.
Sutil tried to claw his way back and rose through the cluttered mid-field but that was not enough to finish among the points.
Fernando Alonso began his Ferrari career with a victory ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Alonso was ecstatic after with a splendid start to the season and with his new team.
"It is a great win today. It is very special to be back on a podium, but really special with Ferrari. There is no better way to start a good relationship.
"We managed to finish 1st and 2nd with the team. We have a very good base. We have to keep working and it is time to push," Alonso said.
Massa, who had suffered a nasty crash last season, was also happy with the result and also praised team strategy.
"Thanks to God I am fine and very happy. The race was really good and fantastic for us. I lost a position to Fernando in the first corner. The car is perfect and I was on soft tires and I was fast later on hard tires.
"It was not easy race. The team did a great job. Montezemolo was pushing very hard. I am very happy and this is my best start of the season. It is a fantastic start. Our engineer was speaking to me every lap to save fuel and this helped a lot over 25 or 30 laps," he said.
Hamilton said the turn four laps hurt him today.
"Congratulations to Fernando and Felipe. For us I lost a bit of ground at turn four. I was in a very bad position and Rosberg passed me. It is very difficult to follow here. Nevertheless I am very happy. We need to continue to push even if the team did a great job already," he said.
While the best Karun could have achieved was to complete the race, Adrian Sutil's 10th place on the starting grid had raised Force India hopes for a good finish.
The German driver, however, dropped out of point race after an opening lap scramble to eventually finish 12th and it was his Italian team-mate Liuzzi who took the onus on himself to ensure that the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit gained something from the season opener.
In contrast, Hispania driver Karun's Formula One debut was a blink-and-miss affair with the Indian forced into an early exit by a bump in the circuit.
"It was only my fifth lap of the circuit here and I found a bump I didn't know was there before and it launched me off," rued the Indian.
The 2010 season opener got off to a chaotic start and Sutil's VJM03 was among the cars that spun in the start, pushing the Force India driver down to the second last position.
Sutil tried to claw his way back and rose through the cluttered mid-field but that was not enough to finish among the points.
Fernando Alonso began his Ferrari career with a victory ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Alonso was ecstatic after with a splendid start to the season and with his new team.
"It is a great win today. It is very special to be back on a podium, but really special with Ferrari. There is no better way to start a good relationship.
"We managed to finish 1st and 2nd with the team. We have a very good base. We have to keep working and it is time to push," Alonso said.
Massa, who had suffered a nasty crash last season, was also happy with the result and also praised team strategy.
"Thanks to God I am fine and very happy. The race was really good and fantastic for us. I lost a position to Fernando in the first corner. The car is perfect and I was on soft tires and I was fast later on hard tires.
"It was not easy race. The team did a great job. Montezemolo was pushing very hard. I am very happy and this is my best start of the season. It is a fantastic start. Our engineer was speaking to me every lap to save fuel and this helped a lot over 25 or 30 laps," he said.
Hamilton said the turn four laps hurt him today.
"Congratulations to Fernando and Felipe. For us I lost a bit of ground at turn four. I was in a very bad position and Rosberg passed me. It is very difficult to follow here. Nevertheless I am very happy. We need to continue to push even if the team did a great job already," he said.
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