Force India fighting for 6th place in constructor standings

Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is still optimistic about the Silverstone-based team’s sixth place finish in the constructor standings this season.

New Delhi: Force India might have missed out on crucial points in last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza, but driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is still optimistic about the Silverstone-based team’s sixth place finish in the constructor standings this season.

Starting 19th on the grid, Liuzzi battled through engine problems to finish at the 12th spot, less than two seconds behind 10th placed Rubens Barrichello while his fancied team-mate Adrian Sutil had to be contend with 16th place. Inspite of the disappointment in his home race in Monza, Liuzzi said Force India has the potential to give Willaims a run for its money in the team standings.“We want to fight for the sixth place in the World Championship, that’s the target for Force India up to the end of this season. Williams is catching, but we won’t give up,” the Italian said. With just five races remaining in the season, Force India is presently lying in the sixth spot in the constructor standings with 58 points, 11 points ahead of Williams. Liuzzi said had it not been for a bad qualifying session in Monza, he would have finished the race on the points bracket. “It was a really strong race. We had a lot of overtaking moves, with a Sauber, with a Toro Rosso. It’s not easy to overtake, because it’s always the same problem when you’re close to other cars, you lose a lot of downforce. “We had a good pace, and I think I would have finished in the points if we didn’t have the problem in qualifying, and had started close to the top 10. At the end I was battling with Buemi and Barrichello for 10th place. Even though I was faster it was very difficult, because they didn’t make many mistakes,” he said.Looking at the Singapore Grand Prix scheduled for September 26, Liuzzi said the night race there would be an interesting challenge for Force India. “I think we will still be competitive, even if on paper Singapore shouldn’t be one of the greatest tracks for us. But I think it could be an interesting challenge,” he said. PTI