Force India confident of podium finish soon

There is little doubting Sahara Force India’s competitive abilities in the middle of the Formula One grid. But anyone who watched last Sunday’s Bahrain GP would be convinced that they are getting closer to achieving bigger things.
Scot Paul di Resta nearly fetched Force India the third spot. Lotus’s Romain Grosjean had just come out with new tyres and getting past Di Resta, with older tyres, was bound to happen. Nevertheless, the drive was encouraging.
“It was very positive. We were competitive in qualifying and in the race,” said Di Resta during an interaction here. “When you are a midfield team and you pick up results like this, you have to be happy. We should not be disappointed on missing the podium because the other cars were faster. Maybe, with better luck, we could have been on the podium. But we will take the positives and head into the European season. Hopefully, we will pick up a better place.”
While Di Resta nearly bagged his first F1 podium, his German teammate Adrian Sutil was done in by a puncture after a collision with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and finished 13th. Better luck will probably see him do far better. “I would say I was unlucky in the last three races. But I’m very confident that we will get a good result very soon,” he averred. “The car is very fast and that is nice to see. I think we are very close to the podium.”
Tyre degradation may not be much of an issue in Europe than at Asian tracks. “Some European summers can be hot but the next few races should be okay. More than the heat, some of the older tracks are rougher and that could contribute to tyre wear,” said Di Resta.
He also said that some upgrades could be expected.
Challenging the bigger teams in a race or two is one thing, but it takes a lot to do it consistently. Right now, Force India are fifth in the constructors’ championship with 26 points, just three ahead of McLaren. Certainly a good position to be in. To stay ahead is going to be tough. “I would not expect them to be behind us for too long. They have huge resources behind them and I have respect for them. They get their act together very quickly,” said Di Resta.
With the confidence gained in the four races so far, the natural instinct will be to target bigger teams. But Di Resta prefers to be realistic. “Sure, I want to be at the top but you have to be realistic. For a team like ours, to be in the position that we are in is a great achievement. The whole team is working as a unit now,” he added.
Instead of gunning for teams that are slightly difficult to reach, he feels consolidating their position over other midfield players like Sauber and Williams would be better.

Source: Dnaindia.com