When asked ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March as to what his expectations were from the season, Force India driver Adrian Sutil had said: “We want to shed the back-markers’ tag.”

The German wasn’t being just cautiously optimistic; a hint of embarrassment was also evident in the statement. He had had 11 retirements to his name out of 18 races in 2008 - a season in which his friend and former Formula BMW competitor Lewis Hamilton was crowned F1 world champion.

At the season-ending race at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Sutil finished 17th - second last among those who completed the race - but it didn’t matter. Sutil knew he, as well as the team, had proved a point and scored a few. Not only were they consistent in qualifying, they finished with a total of 13 points, with one podium, one pole position and one fastest lap to their name.

“It has been a very good season, naturally with a lot of ups and downs, but we’ve gone massively forward from the beginning of the season to the end. I think we can be very proud of this progress,” said Sutil on Sunday, and it was difficult to disagree.

Force India’s disappointing debut not only had critics doubting the team’s ability, but also questioning if the acquisition worth 88 million euros by Vijay Mallya was a wise investment. But it was soon clear that he attached a lot of importance to results. As with the IPL team Bangalore Royal Challengers, who saw the CEO sacked in the middle of a poor 2008, Mallya made more than just cosmetic changes to the F1 team.

... contd.