Mallya: We've a real fight on our hands

Force India is now more committed to take the challenge to its immediate rivals to get ahead in the constructors’ championship after a positive outing during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Adrian Sutil’s seventh place at Monte Carlo fetched six valuable points for the Silverstone-based outfit catapulting it into seventh place in the standings. The team now hopes to continue to add to its tally to better its position in the Canadian Grand Prix.

“Looking back on Monaco, I have to say how delighted I was to see Force India back in the points,” reflected team principal Vijay Mallya. “It’s always a fantastic weekend – probably my favourite race of the year – and to see Adrian fight his way to seventh place was the perfect result after a difficult couple of races for the team.

 

“The six points scored will be important for our battle in the world championship because the teams around us are all very competitive,” he pointed out. “We have a real fight on our hands if we want to catch Sauber and we must continue working hard to maintain our advantage over Toro Rosso.”

In preparation for the race in Montreal, the squad’s reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg conducted the VJM04’s first aero test of the year (Video posted already in blog).

Despite the optimism, Force India would be wary that rookie Paul di Resta has never raced at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before, although his preparation for the weekend included some time on the simulator to get to know the track.

“I’ve never driven the circuit so the priority will be to get up to speed as quickly as possible and learn the track,” the Scot said. “On paper it looks like quite a straightforward circuit with long straights and chicanes, but you never truly know a circuit until you drive it for real.”

Source : F1pulse.com