Tough start to Formula One for Force India team

By Julian Linden

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The first Indian-owned team to start a Formula One race were given a tough lesson in the realities of the sport when both their cars failed to finish Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Force India, which is co-owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, never expected to challenge the likes of McLaren and Ferrari for victory but were hoping to at least make it to the finish.

Former Australian Grand Prix winner, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, crashed out on the first corner, while Germany's Adrian Sutil retired after eight laps because of a hydraulic pressure problem.

"It was a very disappointing first race for Force India," the team's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne told reporters.

"We missed a great opportunity to score points... and we have to look to get a better result in Malaysia (next weekend)."

The team's frustration at failing to finish the race was compounded by an unusually high casualty rate which saw just seven cars complete the event.

Fisichella, who had started from 16th place in the grid, made a clean getaway when the race began but came to an abrupt halt when he was caught in a pile-up.

"I was very disappointed as I lost the race at the first corner because another driver came in like a kamikaze into my car," Fisichella said.