The Japanese Grand Prix ended in sheer disappointemt for Force India as both Giancarlo Fisichell and Adrian Sutil failed to finish their race owing to different car problems at the Fuji Speedway on Sunday.Fisichella crashed out after countering a gearbox problem while a tyre puncture ended Sutil's challenge.
This is for the sixth time in the season that both the cars have failed to finish the race together.
Sutil and Fisichella made electric starts from their respective positions of 19th and 20th on the grid only to fizzle out inside 30 minutes.
Sutil even moved up to 10th position before a sudden tyre failure on lap nine, forcing early retirement.
Fisichella too pushed through the field and was enjoying a tight battle with the Williams of Rosberg for 12th position.
His race though met the same fate following a problem with the gearbox of his VJM01 on lap 21.
Sutil was naturally a dejected man.
"It was a shame. We were running 10th. We had a fantastic start - from 19th to 11th at the end of the first corner as I stayed to the inside and clear of all the problems, and I was in 10th position within a couple of laps. It was going very well and we had a good strategy, it was just so unlucky again," the German driver said.
Fisichella blamed it on gearbox.
"We were considering a one stop strategy which was much more comfortable and I was doing a good race, but then unfortunately at the end I had a problem with the gearbox and seventh gear. At least we are fighting again'," he said.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer, could not hide his disappointment.
"Today was a shame for the team as I think we had every chance of doing very well. Adrian had a good first lap and on a two stop strategy it was looking promising for the rest of the race.
Unfortunately he picked up a puncture, which was the end of his race.
"Giancarlo was also putting in a strong performance despite some contact in the first corner, which damaged his nose and gave some understeer as a result. While it was a great shame for the team, it's good to see a strong race pace once again."
Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director, still picked positives out of the race.
"This weekend has been another mixed event for us. Adrian was driving an excellent race and there was high potential there for him to score points, as he did last year, but then our luck ran out.
"Giancarlo too was very strong and unfortunately had a mechanical problem. We have however proved yet again that we are strong contenders and can fight hard with the other teams, all we need now is a bit of a break," Mallya said.