Force India keen to improve show at home F1 race

Silverstone: As F1 caravan moves to England, Sahara Force India are keen to erase their poor past record when their drivers line up on the grid for the `home` British Grand Prix here on Sunday.

Force India, whose headquarters are just across the race venue, have earned only four points in the last three seasons here. In 2012 and 2011, the team returned empty handed and it was in 2010 that Adrian Sutil had finished eighth to earn four points. "In the past we`ve never had great success at Silverstone, so we are keen to put that right this year. It`s a home race for Paul and I?m sure the whole team can count on lots of support from the British fans. Performance-wise, I expect us to be competitive," said Team Principal Vijay Mallya. "We have a couple of small upgrades so I`m optimistic that we can be fighting for our usual position inside the top ten," Mallya added. For Paul di Resta also it is a home race as he hails from Scotland and he wants to come up with a special performance. "When I was young I dreamed about coming to Silverstone as a Formula One driver so it`s always a very special weekend. As a venue it`s spectacular with some of the greatest corners of the year and the atmosphere is just incredible. The place is packed all weekend and the buzz from the fans gives you so much energy," he said. Paul, who had to retire last year and finished 15th in 2011, said qualifying would be key to team`s fortunes this weekend. "With the way our car is working these tyres at the moment, we are looking really healthy. I believe this car is the best we`ve ever had and everyone in the team is working hard to squeeze even more performance from it. "The key for Silverstone is to hopefully get three successful days in a row on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That`s what we did in Bahrain and it really paid off. If we can do it at Silverstone, then hopefully we can make a big impact on the race," he said. Sutil said scoring points consistently has boosted his and team`s confidence. "I think it was important to have these results, especially the fifth place in Monaco, because it helps you forget some of the missed opportunities from earlier in the season. Canada was another race where we had good speed and considering everything that happened to me during the race it was good to come away with a point. As a team we’ve shown just how competitive we can be, but I feel there is still much more to come," the German said. PTI