Sutil, Di Resta finish among top-10 in Australian GP

Sahara Force India started off their new Formula One season on a resounding note when comeback man Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta finished seventh and eighth, respectively in the Australian Grand Prix, earning the team 10 World Championship points.

Germany's Sutil moved up five places on the grid to earn six points, while Britain's di Resta, who was ninth fastest in the qualifying, gained a position to collect four points.

Sutil, who was struggling with his super-soft tyres in the final stint, said this result for the team was a perfect way to start the season.

"What a fantastic race and a great feeling. I started on the medium tyres, a different strategy to most of the cars ahead of me, and I think this was the right decision."

"The pace was quick and the car felt very good on the medium tyres so I was able to keep up with the guys in front of me, who I knew were going to pit early. It was not long until I was leading the race – my first time leading in Formula One," he said.

"After my second pit stop, I was back in the lead once again. My final stint on the super-softs was much more difficult because the tyres started graining and I lost a few places. I was thinking I might need to pit again, but fortunately the tyres came back to me for the final few laps so I could save the seventh place. I want to say a big 'thank you' to the team once again," Sutil added.

Di Resta was equally impressed with the way Force India team performed and said the top-ten finish for both the cars is a great way to kick off the season.

"Seventh and eighth for the team is a great result and a great way to kick off the season. We've shown we have a car that is kind on its tyres and that helped us today by making less stops than some of our rivals.

"I feel I had a car that could have finished seventh, but I was stuck behind some of the three-stoppers at the start of my second stint, and that cost me quite a lot of track position. There are a lot of positives to take from the race, as well as some things that we can improve to make the car stronger, but we're in a good position heading to Malaysia," said di Resta.

The Silverstone-based team managed only a point in the last year's Australia GP where di Resta came tenth. In 2011, Sutil and di Resta finished ninth and 10th.