New Delhi: The season opener in Bahrain has
enthused Force India owner Vijay Mallya who is particularly
happy with the pace of the car and performance of Italian
driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Force India began its 2010 campaign with Liuzzi finishing
ninth to earn two crucial points.
Teammate Adrian Sutil, who had made it to the third
qualifying session (Q3), finished 12th largely because of an
opening lap tangle with Robert Kubica but went on to clock the
second fastest lap of the race, thus underlining the potential
of VJM03.
"I'm obviously very pleased, despite what happened to
Adrian at the start. For this team, given our history and
background, to score points in the first race is quite a
remarkable effort," Mallya said, looking back at Sunday's
race.
"I think even more so two things have made a very
significant impression on me. First is our race pace. I think
that's a huge statement for a relatively small team like us.
The second is there's been so much talk about Tonio. He's not
just proved himself, but I think he drove beautifully,"
Mallya, also the team principal, explained.
"He preserved his tyres well, he was quick, and he
brought the car home in the points. So all credit goes to
Tonio," he said.
Asserting that the target was not to remain hot on the
heels of traditional giants McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and
Mercedes, Mallya said Sutil's Q3 feat bolsters his belief.
"With the big four around, for me to say that we will run
ahead of them sounds ambitious. But to be knocking on their
doors and ahead of the rest is something I can be very pleased
about," Mallya said.
Overall, the liquor and aviation baron felt his team has
made all the right noise in the season opener and there was
every reason to look forward to this year's championship.
"In 2009 I said we should score some points occasionally,
and we scored 13, which was respectable. This year I said we
should score points regularly. We have opened our account in
the first race and I think the opportunity is wide open for us
to now score points regularly.”
"I wouldn't be surprised if we could target the odd
podium or two. And next year we should hopefully strongly
target podium finishes," Mallya added.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 20:09