Mallya points to recent history for Force India form turnaround

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya says his squad’s upturn in fortunes during the 2016 Formula 1 campaign gives him faith it can fight back in the competitive midfield order this year.

The Silverstone-based squad dropped to seventh place on the F1 world constructors’ championship after the Spanish Grand Prix but Sergio Perez was able to secure the team’s third points haul of the year with ninth place.

Having been satisfied with the performance jump the team’s upgrade package delivered at Circuit de Catalunya, Mallya is confident his squad can continue its charge up the order after a tricky start to the year.

“The car is getting better with each race. The updates in Spain took us a step forward and there is more to come,” Mallya said. “After five races it feels like we have some momentum behind us now.

“Monaco is always a great opportunity to score good points. Both Sergio and Esteban love the track and historically we’ve been competitive on street circuits. You sometimes need the luck to go your way, which didn’t happen last year, but that’s part of the unpredictable challenge of Monaco.”

Mallya says Force India can also take comfort from its similar start to the 2016 campaign, in which the team claimed just three top ten results across its two cars in the opening five rounds before Perez’s podium in a frantic Monaco race kick-started it’s charge up the order to secure its highest-ever finish of fourth place in the teams’ standings.

“It’s also worth remembering that in 2016 after five races we had scored fewer points than we have now [14 vs 18],” he said. “It’s a reminder of how quickly things can change in Formula 1. There is a long way to go.”

Force India also confirmed its Breast Cancer Care partnership continuation with the charity’s logos appearing on its cars for five F1 races this year, starting this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.