(Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
Force India-Mercedes have not had the best of luck since they first contested a Formula One Grand Prix in March 2008. They are yet to score a point, although as many of you know, they should really have quite a nice haul of points, but bad luck has struck on too many occasions.
The first season only brought one point scoring opportunity for Force India; the Monaco Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil had managed to keep his car out of the wall throughout, despite the treacherous conditions that engulfed the majority of the race, and found himself in fourth place with nine laps left.
All he had to do was stay out of trouble, and he tried his hardest, but Kimi Raikkonen got it horrifically wrong under breaking out of the tunnel and slammed into the back of Sutil.
Five points slipped from his and Force-India's grasp in an instance. Sutil was inconsolable, and Vijay Mallya, team owner, and Mike Gaiscoyne, then team principal, were livid.
No more opportunities came their way for the rest of season, but Vijay Mallya was confident that his team could find their calling with the new rules being implemented.
2009 was meant to be the season where it all came true for Force India. Over the winter, a partnership with McLaren and Mercedes was announced, Force India would use the engines, gearbox and electronic system currently produced by Mercedes, and would be able to call upon advice from McLaren.
Initial thoughts were that points would come very soon, and the team would be challenging for podiums positions by mid-season. Well, they're not so wrong in reality.
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix turned out to be a positive one, with Sutil finishing a solid ninth place, so close to picking up a point for the team. From here on, however, good results would be few and far in between.
They did have one unfortunate mishap, when Sutil was on for sixth at the Chinese Grand Prix in sodden conditions, but he caught standing water at turn four and smashed into the safety barrier. Three points gone in an instance, eight points in total gone because of bad luck.
The next time Force India could feel positive about their car was in Monaco, coincidentally, where Fisichella hustled the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Bourdais for the final point and eighth place.
Fisichella could not pass him, but it showed that progress had been made with the car. Mallya and the drivers were quoted as saying that it was only a matter of time until the points came.
The British Grand Prix was the next time the Formula One fraternity would be gossiping about Force India. Points were not on the cards, but Giancarlo Fisichella did finish in 10th, and managed to lap very close to the pace of the Ferrari's, Williams' and Toyota's. He beat both Renault's and both McLaren's too, not bad for a car that not a soul believed would do well.
From here on, the paddock now firmly believed that Force India had turned a corner with their package, and the evidence of that was clear at the German Grand Prix.
Sutil qualified in seventh, outpacing the Ferrari's in qualifying and benefiting from a chaotic session.
Sutil's race pace was astonishing, he was lapping as fast as third place Heikki Kovalainen, and when Heikki pitted, Sutil lapped faster than anyone around him. He found himself in a career high of second place before his first stop.
As he exited the pits, he met the Ferrari of Raikkonen, the two collided at turn one, and Sutil had to make another stop. He eventually finished in 11th place, but his pace suggested that fourth may have been possible.
The pace fell away in Hungary last weekend, but it may return at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. It is definitely only a matter of time before they finally score points, and no team could deserve it more.
In closing, Force India have impressed me the most this season because even when their bad luck strikes, they carry on fighting and developing and do not let bad results knock their confidence.
When other teams are considering leaving our sport due to their poor results, with one having done so, you have another team and the other end of the spectrum who refuse to give up, and while other teams have points, Force India have no points yet.
Does that matter? Not a bit, because they know they will come eventually, it is all about commitment, something that other teams need to have to succeed too.
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