- Force India
Barcelona a 'pivotal moment' for Force India - Mallya
Vijay Mallya believes the Spanish Grand Prix will determine whether Force India can keep its early-season pace alive in Europe.
Force India is currently third in the constructors' championship, and was the most consistent Mercedes customer team in the flyaway races. Barcelona represents the start of the European season and a step up in the development battle and Mallya is under no illusions about the importance of the weekend for Force India.
"It's encouraging that we have performed well across a wide range of circuits, so I'm optimistic that we can maintain our competitive form in Barcelona," Mallya said. "China has never been an especially strong track for us, so to come away with ten points was a very good effort.
"We also expect our car to perform better in warmer conditions and there are some upcoming races that will play more to our strengths. At the same time we know that Formula One never stands still and Barcelona is always a pivotal moment in the development race, but I'm optimistic we can keep up our momentum."
Mallya thinks the way Force India has started the season has given them plenty of motivation about what it can achieve this year.
"I think we can feel extremely satisfied with our performance during the first four races. We've been in the points in every race, Sergio has been on the podium and Nico has finished no lower than sixth place.
"We've already scored 70% of the total points we scored in 2013 and that puts us in a fantastic position to potentially enjoy our best season to date."
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