Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta finished outside the points bracket as Force India Formula One team returned empty-handed from the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.
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Sutil ended the race 11th while di Resta finished 12th.
Both Sutil and di Resta made a good start to the race, running in 10th and 12th respectively by the end of lap one.
Di Resta was the first to pit for a set of new option tyres on lap 14 while Sutil's first stop came on lap 16.
For the team's second pit stops, Sutil came in for prime tyres on lap 37 and di Resta for new primes on lap 36.
The pair then ran consistently in 11th and 12th, maintaining their positions until the chequered flag.
"Generally it was not a bad race. Coming from 16th was not easy; the start itself was good and as usual there were a lot of cars at the first corner, but I made up several places by the end of lap one. We had good performance on the track and in the end it was a good race for the first one of the season," Sutil said.
"It is a shame that we were just outside the top ten, but we hope to have improved our pace and be in the points in Malaysia," he added.
Di Resta said the team would aim for a better finish in the next race.
"Our pace was just a little bit behind today, but hopefully by Malaysia we will be able to understand why and, when the upgrades come, perform at bit better.
"Adrian and I were on different strategies and we had to fuel conserve toward the end that's why the gap opened up. I am going into Malaysia to try to do a better job than I did here today, but overall I am relatively happy," he added.
Force India's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer said though it was disappointing to be outside the points bracket, the performance was good nonetheless.
"It was good to see both Force India cars run a consistent race today. It is, of course, disappointing to finish just outside the points, but we have to look at the positives and what we have learned this weekend," he added.
Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull won the race.
Photograph: Getty Images
