Budapest: Adrian Sutil’s 100th Grand Prix ended in disappointment as he failed to finish the race even as Force India’s lead over McLaren was reduced to just four points after a no-points show at the Hungarian Grand Prix, on Sunday.
Paul di Resta, who began 17th on the grid, finished 18th, which meant that for the second time in a row Force India have not added any points to their kitty.
On lap 19, Sutil’s car suffered a hydraulic leak and after making a contact with Felipe Massa on the next lap he went into the pitlane and the team decided to retire the car.
Jenson Button earned six points for McLaren with a seventh place finish to cut Force India’s lead over the British team to just four. Force India remain on 59 while McLaren moved to 55 from 49.
It is third time in the season that Force India have not scored a point, earlier missing out in Malaysia and Germany.
Their qualifying compromised, scoring points was a tough task for Sutil, who started 11th, and di Resta.
The Scot, who was classified 18th but did not finish the race, hoped they will come back stronger in the second half of the season after a near one-month break.
“I made a good start and was very aggressive on the opening lap. I think I was up to about P12, but from there on it was difficult because I was struggling with the balance and tyre performance,” di Resta said. (PTI)