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Force India not taking sixth in constructors' for granted

Force India has looked strong at the last two races © Getty Images

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Force India has vowed not to become complacent over its current sixth place position in the constructors' championship.

Sixth place is worth a significant amount of prize money to the team and it has pushed the development of its car at recent races to stay ahead of Sauber and Toro Rosso. After scoring six points in Abu Dhabi the team appears to have cemented its position ahead of its rivals, with a 15-point advantage over Sauber, but COO Otmar Szafnauer insists it is not taking anything for granted.

"The gap is not insignificant, but it's not insurmountable, so in Brazil we still have to do everything we can to get both cars in the top ten in qualifying and in the race," he said. "Things that are out of our control, like the weather, we'll just have to see. The weather can throw up some unexpected results and in Brazil at this time it can rain, so it does happen."

If all goes to plan, Szafnauer is confident Force India will be strong at Interlagos next weekend.

"I think we'll go pretty well there," he added. "Maybe we won't have the same advantage that we had in Abu Dhabi, but we'll still be competitive in Brazil. Adrian [Sutil] likes the circuit and is usually pretty quick there. If it is wet I think we'll be quick too. We just have to do a solid job over the weekend, make no mistakes, and qualify and race well."

But after losing out on sixth place in the constructors' last year, the team will be aiming to maximise its potential.

"That's exactly what we're trying to do," Szafnauer said. "We have to maximise our performance to the end. I think we're in a better position than last year, but by no means are we guaranteed that sixth place, so we still have to fight for it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.