- Force India
Force India not settling for fifth in constructors' race
Vijay Mallya insists Force India has not given up the fight with Ferrari and Williams in the constructors' championship despite its recent downturn in form.
Force India started the season brightly and sat as high as second in the constructors' standings after Sergio Perez achieved the team's second-ever podium in Bahrain. In the last three races Force India's consistency has disappeared with just 11 points from three races, in which time Ferrari [third] and Williams [fourth] have collected large hauls to open up a gap of 37 points to fifth position.
Despite this, team boss Mallya remains upbeat about Force India's prospects for the second half of the year.
"I'm pleased we went into the summer break in fifth place," Mallya said. "I think it's where we deserve to be at this stage of the season. Fourth place is not out of reach either with 38 points covering fourth to sixth place. One race can make all the difference, and the last race, with double points, could prove to be decisive. So we'll just keep our heads down and focus on every single race and take it as it comes."
Hungary, the race before the summer break, was the first time Force India had failed to record a point at a weekend this season but Mallya knows the team will come back stronger in Belgium.
"Until Hungary we had scored points in every race, so I guess we were due to have an unlucky weekend at some stage. I just hope that's our bad luck over and done with. At the same time there was a huge opportunity to come away with some significant points so it was a missed opportunity. Both drivers came to me and apologised. Checo [Sergio Perez] was unlucky: the same thing happened to Vettel at the same corner and he got away with it."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
