For
India’s liquor baron Vijay Mallya it was a day of great news at the Bahrain
Grand Prix final held on April 7, 2014. Mallya is the Team Principal and
Managing Director of Sahara Force India.
"Today
is one of the greatest days in the history of our team. It’s been a long time
coming, but it’s very satisfying to see Sahara Force India back on the podium
after so many near misses in recent years. We have a great driver line-up and
today we saw both Checo (Sergio Perez of Sahara Force India – Mercedes) and
Nico (Nico Hulkenberg) at their best as they battled for a place on the podium.
Without the safety car our two-stop strategies would have been much more
comfortable because we faced a strong assault from the Red Bulls in the closing
stages.
“Nico
did a fantastic job to keep them back for so long and hold on to fifth place.
It gave Checo the breathing space he needed to secure third place. So I’m
extremely proud of everyone in the team and congratulate all of them on this
achievement. 2014 is a new chance and we have shown we're moving forward in
Australia, Malaysia and here. I couldn't be happier," said Mallya in a
press statement
Sergio
Perez scored a brilliant third place in the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg
was close behind in fifth place bringing the team’s points total to 44 and
moving the team up to second place in the constructors’ championship.
“This podium is an amazing achievement and one
of the most special results in my whole career. This is a massive confidence
boost, especially after the very hard season I had last year, and it was the
hardest-fought podium I ever had. It was an amazing feeling to cross the line because
the last few laps were very difficult.
“I
had to keep up the pace and I knew the Red Bulls were coming. In the end we
managed to stay ahead and score this very special result in only my third race
with the team. I also had a great fight with my teammate during the whole race.
When he got ahead of me after the first stop, I tried to keep my head down to
get back ahead. I managed to do that when we were fighting with the Williams
and that was the crucial moment," said Perez in a statement.
Nico
stated, “It’s a great day for the team and I’m very happy for the guys. The
battle with Checo was very clean and fair, and when you’re fighting for the
podium you give everything but always stay within the lines. It was good fun.
The end of the race was hard because I had to battle from the moment the safety
car came in until the end of the race.
“I
was behind Checo and I felt I had a little more pace, but I was in dirty air
and that caused me to struggle towards the end. I held back Ricciardo for as
long as I could and I managed to stay ahead of Vettel. It’s a great achievement
for the team and we’ve shown once again that we are competitive so hopefully we
can keep up the momentum in China.”
Picture courtesy Sahara Force India
Mercedes