Budapest (Hungary): Force India Chairman
Vijay Mallya considers his team`s disastrous German Grand Prix
just a blip and wants at least one of his drivers to finish
among points in all the remaining eight races as they aim a
top-five finish in the constructor championship.
Force India maintained its sixth position even after
missing points in Hockenheim last week and are hoping to get
back to points in Sunday`s Hungarian Grand Prix here.
With 47 points in their kitty, Force India are 49 points
behind fifth placed Renault.
"Germany was very disappointing for the team but I see it
as a blip rather than anything more significant. Fortunately
it was only the second time this year we have missed out on
the points and - more importantly - we did not lose any ground
to our main rivals so we got off lightly, all things
considered.”
"However this clearly cannot happen again as the race for
fifth and sixth in the championship is closer than ever now
and we need to finish with at least one car in the points at
each race from now on," Mallya, also the team principal, said.
Apart from mechanical problems for Adrian Sutil and an
accident involving Vitantonio Liuzzi, the mistaken swapping of
the tyres during the pit stop only compounded the problems of
Force India.
Sutil, who finished 17th in Germany, said Hungary circuit
is tough but he is confident of making Q3.
"Budapest is a great city, it`s beautiful there and
always nice and warm. I`m looking forward to it after a cold
weekend in Germany. The Hungaroring is actually a difficult
track, with a lot of corners that require focus as one leads
into the next without any recovery time.”
"I like driving there, even though the average speed is
quite low. Qualifying is very important and despite our recent
form in this area, I`m always confident I can make it into the
top 10," he said.
Italian Liuzzi, who crashed out of the qualifying after
an accident and finished 16th in the last race, said what
happened in pit lane was shame but was optimistic of doing
well on twisty Hungary track.
"The race was basically difficult from that point, which
was a shame because we had a strong pace, and with the hard
tyres we were really consistent and fast. It was good enough
to be in the top 10, if we had started in front.
"Although we know it could be a tough weekend for us
because of the strength of the competition now, we still have
a chance to fight for points because we`re always there when
everything goes right.”
"And it`s like a big Monaco in that the circuit is very
twisty and there`s not much room for overtaking, and at Monaco
we were quite strong," he said.
PTI
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