Paul di Resta brought his VJM06 home in eighth place, earning Sahara Force India four points, but misfortune struck Adrian Sutil as he was forced to retire after being hit from the back by Esteban Gutierrez during the Chinese Grand Prix, in Shanghai on Sunday.
Di Resta had started 11th from the grid and he raced brilliantly to lead Force India to its first ever points in China.
Sutil's race lasted just five laps as he found his rear wing was broken after Gutierrez hit him near the hairpin.
"I was battling with Nico (Hulkenberg) on the opening lap, but unfortunately there was some contact with Adrian (Sutil) down at the hairpin, which put me on the grass and set us back three or four places.
"After that I was stuck in the pack, my tyres were graining, and I couldn’t really make much progress. It wasn’t until the third stint that I was in some clean air and the pace of the car was very strong. I was pushing all the way and I knew it would be very close after the final stop with Grosjean and Hulkenberg," Di Resta said.
The Scot praised his pit crew for working tremendously in the last pit stop.
"They kept their nerve and we managed to stay ahead of both of them. If everything had gone to plan I’m sure we could have done an even better job, but it’s good to pick up more points and to see our race pace right up there once again."
Sutil said he had a good chance of scoring more points on Sunday.
"Things were going well in the opening laps and then under braking for the final hairpin I got hit from behind as I turned into the corner. I guess Gutierrez missed his braking point and had nowhere to go but into the back of my car. I was on the soft tyre and the strategy looked to be shaping up well," he said.
