Force India momentum sharpens focus on fourth

Force India's Sergio Perez feels its recent upturn in results has enabled it to retarget fourth place in the Formula 1 world championship as top of the midfield.

After enduring a tough start to 2018 with just a single point from the opening three rounds, Sergio Perez kick-started Force India’s charge with a surprise third place at the frantic Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Having recently celebrated its 200^th race under the Force India banner, the team has secured double points for two races running to leapfrog McLaren into sixth place in the F1 world constructors’ championship.

While just two points separate the Silverstone-based squad from fifth-place Haas, 21 points split it from Renault. Sergio Perez feels the team’s recent performance gains from in-season updates mean it can focus on matching its fourth place finishes in the F1 teams’ standings from the past two years.

“I was happy to rescue a point last weekend in Silverstone after a big recovery,” Perez said, having been tripped into a spin at the first turn of the British GP. “The main focus for Germany is to have a clean weekend because if we maximise our performance we can be at the front of the midfield.

“There is a long way to go and lots to play for. We are finding a bit more performance with each race and I still believe we can target fourth place in the championship.”

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya has echoed Perez’s sentiments and feels points at all the 11 remaining races this season is a realistic goal to fuel its fourth place hunt.

“It’s been satisfying to get both cars in the points for the last two races. It’s what we need to do for our fight in the constructors’ championship,” Mallya said.

“Germany marks the half way point in the season and it feels as though we have some momentum now. The updates we introduced in Silverstone helped and there’s more performance to be unlocked.

“We’ve been a bit unlucky in the first half of the season, especially getting caught up in first lap incidents, so I think we are due a change in fortune. Scoring points in all of the remaining races is a realistic target, but I expect the midfield fight to get even closer in the races to come.”

Behind the dominant top three teams of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, the Silverstone-based team has proven itself as a strong midfield fighter having taken back-to-back fourth places in 2016 and 2017.