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Mallya still targets McLaren

ESPN Staff
September 30, 2013 « Vergne eyes Toro Rosso revival | Van der Garde wants rain to jump Marussia »
Vijay Mallya believes Force India can close the 14-point gap to McLaren © Sutton Images
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Vijay Mallya still wants Force India to target overhauling McLaren for fifth place in the constructors' championship this season.

Force India dropped behind McLaren in the standings after the Belgian Grand Prix and, having been outscored in the last five consecutive races, the gap now stands at 14 points. However, Mallya believes Force India can still reverse the trend despite scoring just three points since the British Grand Prix and says getting the tyres to work will be crucial to the team's chances of success.

"The objective has not changed," Mallya said. "McLaren have a points lead over us, but they are not totally out of reach. As I've said before, turning on the tyres is paramount and we are working hard to achieve this. There are a lot of points on offer and we need to try and regain the performance level we showed in the first part of the season."

However, Mallya did admit that starting that fightback in Korea would be a difficult task.

"It's never been our strongest track, although we did score some points there last year. It's quite low-grip and the cooler temperatures make it a very different challenge. We will go there ready to learn as much as possible, try and improve our qualifying pace and come up with a smart strategy for Sunday."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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