Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the sole Indian representative at the Formula One World Championship, is looking towards capitalising on the home advantage at the upcoming Indian Grand Prix scheduled to take place on October 26-28, 2012. Reportedly, the team's German driver, Nico Hulkenberg has affirmed that his immediate focus is to secure a podium finish at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC), the official venue of the global motor sporting spectacle.
Expressing his views on the preparation towards the 2012 Formula One Airtel Indian Grand Prix, Hulkenberg said, "As a team it is a very special race for us - the proper home race and one of the busiest races of the year. As a target we have to aim for some good points. The last few races have shown the speed is there to do that and even get close to the podium. The races coming up should suit us quite well, especially somewhere like Abu Dhabi with long straights and slow corners. Those are the sort of corners where our car has looked quite strong so far."
The 2012 Formula One Airtel Indian Grand Prix will be country's second face off with the nerve wrenching racing event and accordingly, the excitement and thrill quotient has grown two folds, since last year. In the 2011 edition, Force India managed the coveted top ten finish at the hands of Adrian Sutil who came 9th overall after the race, while the other driver Paul Di Resta could finish only at 12th. Hence, this year the team is expecting to finish at podium, which has eluded it so far in the ongoing season with just four more races left.
Speaking on his and Sahara Force India's prospects of a decent finish, the 25 year old Hulkenberg said, "I think it took me a few races to get back into the groove because I was only the team's third driver in 2011.Even though I was able to take part in some practice sessions, it is not the same as racing every week. Another thing is that we know our car very well now. We have understood where we can find some more performance and found some good directions with the set-up."
The upcoming Indian Grand Prix has been a talking point for most of the F1 enthusiasts as it is going to feature as many as six previous Word Champions competing against each other for the pole finish. The list includes Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and the current F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel who also took the pole at 2011 Indian F1 Grand Prix.
At present, Nico Hulkenberg and his 26 year old Briton team mate Paul Di Resta are at 12th and 13th spots on the F1 Driver Standings, as of the Korean Grand Prix with 45 and 44 points, respectively. Further, the Sahara Force India team trails Sauber-Ferrari at the seventh spot with 89 points on the F1 Constructor Standings.
