Hulkenberg didn't expect strong start

Nico Hulkenberg is surprised by how competitive his Force India team has been in the early part of the new Formula 1 season.

The highly rated German rejoined Vijay Mallya's squad from Sauber over the winter and has finished inside the top six in each of the first four F1 races of 2014.

Hulkenberg lies a career-best fourth in the current championship, after holding off Valtteri Bottas's Williams to finish sixth in the recent Chinese Grand Prix.
He says no one could have expected Force India to make such a strong start to the campaign.

"I didn't expect it and I don't think you could have expected it as well," Hulkenberg said.

"Winter testing was good, but not that good.

"To come away with so many points is a big achievement."
Hulkenberg urged the Silverstone-based squad, which operates on a significantly smaller budget than the leading teams, to do its best to keep up in the development race and avoid slipping back as the season wears on.

"I don't see any obvious reason why we shouldn't be able to carry the good momentum, but like every year in Formula 1 it's pretty much a development race - you've got to keep bringing performance," Hulkenberg added.

"Maybe at the later point in the season the big teams with the bigger budgets will have more of an advantage, but I see ourselves in a very good position."

HOW HULKENBERG'S START TO 2014 COMPARES
Hulkenberg's current tally of 36 points makes 2014 by far his best start to an F1 season to date, as the table below shows:

Situation after four races:

Year  Team         Points  Position
2014  Force India    36      4th
2013  Sauber         5       14th
2012  Force India    2       16th
2010  Williams       1       15th

2011: Force India reserve, did not race 

Autosport.com

'Sacrifices' paying off for Force India - Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg admits he is fully aware Force India gave up plenty before he even returned to the team to put it in the strong position it finds itself in this season.

Force India has seen a marked improvement under the new regulations this season, returning to the podium for the first time since 2009 in Bahrain. It is a contrast to last season where, after some promising results in the first half of last season, Force India finished no higher than seventh after the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hulkenberg was driving for Sauber in 2013 before returning to Force India for the new campaign, and he believes those struggles now seem worthwhile in hindsight.

"I think new regulations create a reset for all teams," Hulkenberg told the Times of India. "It changes the established order a bit and that is what we've seen this year. I think it has given us a chance to be more competitive than in previous seasons. The team sacrificed a lot last year to concentrate on 2014 and I think it has proved to be a sensible decision."

Despite seeing Perez take Force India's long-awaited second podium in Bahrain, Hulkenberg is currently fourth in the drivers' standings behind Fernando Alonso. Ferrari saw a dramatic upturn in fortunes after the resignation of Stefano Domenicali in China and Hulkenberg believes he may have his work cut out to retain his position in the standings.

"It's impossible to say," Hulkenberg said when asked if he could compete with Ferrari all season. "Ferrari are strong and Fernando has beaten me in three out of four races, so it will be a tough fight to catch Fernando.

"One of your ambitions must be to get a podium finish this year. It's definitely the goal, but the most important thing is consistency over the year and to make sure we are scoring points at each race."

En.espnf1.com

Force India boosted by China result

The Force India Formula 1 team believes it can take heart from its performance in the Chinese Grand Prix because the Shanghai circuit is the worst suited to its car.

Force India finished sixth and ninth with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez at the Shanghai circuit on Sunday, a result that appeared to be a step backwards after finishing on the podium in Bahrain in the previous race.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley said the demands of the Chinese track tended to expose the weaknesses of Force India's cars, so he was delighted Vijay Mallya's team again managed to finish inside the top six.

"This is probably as encouraging a result as Bahrain was an elation for us, because this is not one of our top-performing circuits - it has been one of our Achilles' heel ones," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.

"We've struggled here throughout the years, so to deliver the level of performance we've done, and we've been fundamentally finishing in the top six in all four races, at four completely different circuits, is encouraging."
Bahrain podium finisher Perez had to battle through to ninth after a brake problem hindered his qualifying session, while Hulkenberg complained of chronic understeer in his car in the race.

Fernley said the drivers had done well to cope with such a difficult circuit for the team.

"It's a very front-limited circuit and it just doesn't quite fit in to the way we operate the car," Fernley added.

"This circuit is very specific in being a challenge to us, whereas Bahrain is exactly the opposite.

"So you're talking two ends of the spectrum: one suits the car really well and other doesn't fit for us. And everything else fits between them.

"We'll still have a couple that are more Bahrain-like, and some that are more China-like, but overall everything else fits between those.

"This means that at our best circuits we are podium potential and at our worst circuits we're looking at being top six, and that is the consistency we need to put on a strong challenge from a constructors' point of view."

Autosport.com

Chinese GP - Race - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, 6th
"Finishing in sixth and bringing both cars home in the points again was a very positive result for the team. It was actually a pretty straightforward race for me after we got in front of Massa: I had to manage my tyres, my pace and avoid mistakes, and it only got tricky at the end when Bottas was getting a bit closer. We have beaten all other customer Mercedes cars, which are our main competition at the moment, but we have also seen some other teams up their game so we will need to keep pushing."

Sergio Perez, 9th
"To start from P16 and finish in ninth place is a good recovery after a difficult qualifying session yesterday. I made a good start and after that I just focused on making the two-stop strategy work. I think everybody suffered with tyre graining and I picked up a few flat spots, but we still made it work. It was not easy to overtake today, even the cars on a different strategy, so I think ninth place was the maximum. It means I've scored points in three out of four races, but I was hoping for more today after the weekend we had in Bahrain. It's also clear that all the teams around us are finding pace so we have to keep working hard to be ready for Barcelona."

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
"Coming away from China with another ten points in our pocket and third place in the teams' standings is a very good effort. We never expected Shanghai to be our strongest track so I think we can feel pretty satisfied with our performance over the entire weekend. Nico's race was relatively straightforward and we judged the tyre strategy correctly as he held off Bottas in the final stint. Sergio staged a strong recovery drive to move up into the points, which was a good effort when you consider he has not felt completely comfortable with the car balance this weekend. To have 54 points after four races is an excellent effort and we can be pleased with the consistency we have shown over a variety of different circuits."

Formula1.com 
 

Chinese GP - Qualification - Force India driver quotes

Nico Hulkenberg (8th, Q3 - 1:56.366)
“A top ten result is always what we are aiming for in qualifying, so from that perspective I am happy to be eighth. It was very wet out there and I was struggling a bit with the car balance under braking, but all in all I think we're in a good starting position for the race. Tomorrow's weather should improve and we ran in the dry yesterday so we know what to expect and will adapt to any conditions. It will be interesting to see the tyre development through the race because graining is a classic feature of this track, but I’m confident we can work around it and make the tyres last.”

Sergio Perez (16th, Q2 - 1:58.264)
"It was not an easy session and the truth is that I’ve been struggling with the car balance all weekend. I think the wet weather today exaggerated those issues and it leaves me P16 and feeling a bit disappointed. I found it hard to generate enough temperature in my tyres and I was sliding around in each corner and especially under braking. The weather is expected to be better tomorrow so I am sure we can recover some ground and move up into the fight for points.”

Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal and managing director
“The wet weather has become a recurrent them e on Saturdays with three out of four qualifying sessions taking place in the wet already this season. We hoped the rain might play into our hands, but both cars struggled under braking and didn’t really find the rhythm in the wet conditions. So in that regard it was quite a disjointed session and Nico did well to make Q3 and qualify in P8. Sergio has not been comfortable with the car balance all weekend and the wet conditions today made things even more challenging. I think we can be strong in race conditions tomorrow and points will be the target, but it’s clear the battle for the top ten will be especially competitive here.”

Formula1.com

Chinese GP - Friday Practice - Force India Driver Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:41.175, 5th; P2 - 1:39.736, 11th
“It was quite a smooth day in terms of completing our programme and working through the job list. There is still work to do on the set-up and some things we can try to optimise the car ahead of tomorrow, but on the whole I’m satisfied with what we learnt today. The tyre work went okay and we have all the data that we need on the soft and the medium tyres to prepare for the rest of the weekend.”

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:42.733, 15th; P2 - 1:40.124, 15th
“I had an issue with the DRS this morning, but the afternoon was much better and we completed our lap target. The tyre work went to plan and, as we expected, the degradation was high on the soft tyre. I’m still not completely happy with the balance so there are some areas to work on overnight.”

Robert Fernley, deputy team principal
“It’s been a fairly normal Friday for us with both cars getting through their respective programmes. Sergio lost some track time with a DRS issue this morning, but the afternoon was much more straightforward. There are a few aero developments on the car this weekend, which we ran during the Bahrain test, and we continued to evaluate them here. It’s difficult to judge our competitiveness based on today’s performance, but it’s fair to say that we have some work to do this evening to optimise things. There’s also a good chance of rain tomorrow, which could impact on qualifying and make things interesting.”

Formula1.com 
 

China GP - Force India Preview quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
2013 Qualifying - 10th, 2013 Race - 10th
"We’ve shown we have a good package and we have the hunger to keep fighting at the front. We’ve performed well at all the tracks so far and they all had very different characteristics. So we can feel positive that the car will perform quite well in China. We are going there after the test in Bahrain and hopefully we can bring some more performance too. So I think we can aim for another competitive weekend and come away with some more points."

Sergio Perez
2013 Qualifying - 12th, 2013 Race - 11th
"To get the podium in Bahrain was great - it’s a great result for this team and a big boost of confidence for me. The target is to move on, keep improving and target more podiums. Bahrain was the first real opportunity I had to develop the car through the weekend without any issues so it felt like my season really started there. Now we need to think about how we can do better in China. At the same time we must not get carried away because we know how competitive Formula One is and how things can change very quickly."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"I think we’ve shown in the first few races that we have produced a competitive car. Bahrain was not just a one-off and we’ve been improving with each race. In Australia we were sixth, in Malaysia fifth and then third and fifth in Bahrain. As I’ve said, it’s our best ever start to a season, which always gives me a great sense of satisfaction, but we won’t sit back; we are always trying to improve. The aim is to repeat the podium, but each race is different and the field is so competitive that it’s impossible to predict. Some tracks will suit us more than others but I want to see us up there fighting towards the front."

Formula1.com

Hulkenberg keen to make amends in China

The Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend was the best-ever race for Force India but it still left their highly rated driver, Nico Hulkenberg, "disappointed". 

Sergio Perez pipped Hulkenberg to record Force India's second-ever podium finish at a floodlit Sakhir Circuit. Perez, who had scored a point to Hulkenerg's 18 in the first two rounds, beat his teammate and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to finish third in a thrilling 57-lap race.

"It was a great result for the team but personally it was disappointing to finish fifth. I made a mistake in the qualifying and that cost me eventually," Hulkenberg told PTI from Zurich.

 


Hulkenberg, who finds himself in a "surprising" third place in the drivers' standings with 28 points, had started 11th on the grid to Perez's fourth. Asked whether he deserved the coveted podium more than his Mexican teammate after being the more consistent of the two, Hulkenberg said: "I am disappointed that I could not come in the top three but in Formula 1 it is not about what you deserve, you have to deliver on the day, you have to get the job done. I could not do that and Sergio did it well." 

The team stayed back in Bahrain for the first mid-season test, which concluded on Wednesday. Hulkenberg said the two-day testing went well though there was enough scope of improving the car further. 

"The team tested some aero parts and overall there was some progress made. 

I hope these updates keep us competitive. The car had pace on all three tracks having different characteristics and it is something that gives us confidence going ahead. However, we still need to work on the rear grip," he said.

Force India, one of the four teams using Mercedes engines, are a surprise second in the team standings behind the Silver Arrows but ahead of Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Though it is still early days and top teams are expected to improve rapidly, Hulkenberg felt his team can continue to challenge for podiums.

"We all know how quickly things change in Formula 1. Top teams are bound to improve sooner than later but I don't know if someone like Ferrari can things around quickly. You can't tweak the engines overnight. We have shown good pace and we can expect similar performance in the next races," said the 26-year-old, who is yet to make the podium in four seasons despite coming close with a couple of fourth-place finishes.

The F1 caravan now heads to fourth round of the championship in Shanghai from April 18-20.

IBNLIVE.in 

Gatorade becomes official supplier to Sahara Force India

Sahara Force India announced today that Gatorade UK, the sports performance nutrition specialists, as an official supplier of the team.

Gatorade was first developed in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida to replenish fluid, carbohydrates and electrolytes that athletes lose in sweat during athletic competitions. By linking up with the Sahara Force India Formula One team, Gatorade’s product range will be put to the test at the pinnacle of motorsport with the task of keeping the drivers, mechanics and engineers performing at their peak. 

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer of Sahara Force India: “To be successful in Formula One, you have to optimise every area of the team, especially human performance. That’s why our relationship with Gatorade is an important step for Sahara Force India and we look forward to benefiting from their expertise as a leading sports fuel supplier. Thanks to Gatorade’s wide range of products, we can provide all team members with the proper hydration and nutrition to help them perform.”

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Gatorade UK Marketing Manager Alex Armstrong said: “We are extremely pleased to join up with Sahara Force India and are looking forward to an exciting first season working together. Their recent podium in Bahrain shows the team is ready for even greater success and, in Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, they have one of the most exciting driver partnerships on the grid. We wish them both every success in 2014.”

www.thesportscampus.com

Perez podium 'special' after tough 2013

Sergio Perez says his first podium for Force India in the Bahrain Grand Prix was "special" after his struggles at McLaren in 2013.

The Mexican, who scored three podiums for Sauber in 2012 before earning his move to McLaren, endured a tough season with the Woking team as it suffered its first campaign without a podium finish since 1980.

Perez came out on top in a battle with team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and sustained late-race pressure from Daniel Ricciardo to take third place behind Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes cars.


Speaking about the significance of the result, Perez said: "It means a lot. It is a very special podium for me.

"I had a really tough time, my time at McLaren where I basically was far away and didn't have a chance to fight for the podium.

"When I joined McLaren it was a very fast team, the fastest team there, so when the McLaren option came to me I didn't think twice.

"I was hoping to fight for the title and win races. But it was really tough, more than people realise.

"It was not easy for me to fight for a podium, so to do it here in this race is a great feeling."

Perez said that the late-race safety car that closed the pack up made his race tougher, as it put him under pressure from cars that were faster in the closing stages.

"We were at a big disadvantage compared to the people behind," he said. 

"The safety car made things really hard.

"I was looking quite comfortable before that, but once it came it was difficult to switch the prime tyre on.

"I tried my best to keep my position and I managed it, then we had a Red Bull car that was quick at the end, and we managed to stay ahead."

Autosport.com
 

Vijay Mallya Q&A: Great to break Force India's podium jinx

On Sunday in Bahrain Sergio Perez returned Force India to the podium for the first time in five years, much to the delight of team principal Vijay Mallya who wondered when one of his drivers would stand on the rostrum again. In this exclusive interview, Mallya hails the Mexican’s achievement and explains why this could be the start of many successes this season…

Q: Vijay, congratulations! You have pushed your team so hard over the last few years and now, with Sergio Perez, you have scored another well-deserved podium. What does that mean to you?
Vijay Mallya: It is a very special moment. My job was always to make this team climb up the ladder - steadily. I always believed that 2014 - with all the new regulations - gave us a new opportunity. And so far what a good season it has been! We finished sixth in Australia, we improved to fifth in Malaysia - and I think I hinted in Malaysia that I hoped that we could improve further, and there you have it: the podium in Bahrain! We were quietly confident with Checo (Sergio Perez) being fourth on the grid, but everything had to be perfect for us - especially as we planned a two-stop strategy. We were not so sure if we would make the tyres work, but the drivers did an excellent job. Even Nico Hulkenberg was outstanding - starting 11th and moving up to seventh on the first lap and driving a flawless race. It was all down to great teamwork as in the last two to three laps the Red Bulls, on their new soft tyres, were really flying and he (Hulkenberg) managed to hold off Ricciardo and Vettel - and that improved the chances for Perez. Everybody in the team is absolutely delighted that we have finally achieved the podium. Last year we were quite unlucky, but today the jinx is broken - and I would not mind if this is the start of a nice series of podiums.
Q: What do you read into the podium finish? Is it an indication of things to come in the next few races?
VM: You still have the great Ferraris, the great Red Bulls, and the great McLarens of this world - but in the end it is the result that counts. And today’s result means that we are second in the constructors’ championship! It was a fair race, a tough race and the safety car compromised us as we should have finished three and four - because of the safety car we lost the gap - but we still raced and we won third and fifth places on merit and not because of somebody else’s misfortune or somebody else’s hard luck story. That shows that we are competitive and capable of challenging all the big teams. Of course the Mercedes are very, very strong so I am not so sure if we could catch them - but we will try! (laughs) Compared to everybody else we are on a limited budget, and I am very glad that we are proving that on limited resources we are still able to be competitive.
Q: Is the success story of Force India in the past few years - from relative backmarkers to second in the standings - proof that you can run a successful team on a reasonable budget?
VM: Absolutely! Our result speaks for itself. With the resources that we have and with the tools and equipment that we have compared to others - our wind tunnel is still the wind tunnel that was built by Eddie Jordan - we are still competitive. We were top ten in Australia, top ten in Malaysia and podium here in Bahrain - I couldn’t be happier.
Q: Aside from the podium, what was it that gave you the real thrill this evening?
VM: Ferrari is an icon - and when you say Ferrari people tend to think: here is a world championship team. So when I was looking on the monitor from the pit wall and saw that we passed the Ferraris four times, that was a great moment for me! (Laughs)
Q: Did you believe that you would have to wait so long for another podium?
VM: Well, first of all, there is no fast fix in F1. But my guess is that last year we were ready and were unlucky not to achieve two or three podiums. Fortunately this year it is not only luck but also the fact that we have a good car!
Q: How about your two drivers? Checo was quite unlucky in the first two races. Is the podium his reward for keeping the faith?
VM: Probably it was. He raced exceptionally well today. It was not easy for him. He was always under pressure and he made the most of it. It was a great effort by both drivers.
Q: The next race is two weeks away in China - can you repeat your success there?
VM: We are always trying to improve. If we can repeat the podium, that would of course be fantastic. But it is so competitive here that it is not possible to predict anything. I think the only team that can make a sensible prediction is Mercedes because they are so much quicker than anybody else. But I don’t think that any other team can accurately predict where they will be.
Q: Having a Mercedes engine seems like a fantastic asset for Force India…
VM: It is a big asset! From the start of testing it has been reliable, and so it is clear that we’ve made the right choice to sign with Mercedes. All the cars that are in front are Mercedes-powered cars.
Q: If you had one wish for your team - in your moment of glory - what would it be?
VM: That I hope that all the boys have a good time with a lot of champagne and ‘Kingfisher beer’ and celebrate because they all deserve it (laughs). 

Formula1.com 

Baharain GP - Race - Force India Driver quots

Sergio Perez, 3rd
“This podium is an amazing achievement and one of the most special results in my whole career. This is a massive confidence boost, especially after the very hard season I had last year, and it was the hardest-fought podium I ever had. It was an amazing feeling to cross the line because the last few laps were very difficult. I had to keep up the pace and I knew the Red Bulls were coming. In the end we managed to stay ahead and score this very special result in only my third race with the team. I also had a great fight with my teammate during the whole race. When he got ahead of me after the first stop, I tried to keep my head down to get back ahead. I managed to do that when we were fighting with the Williams and that was the crucial moment."

Nico Hulkenberg, 5th
“It’s a great day for the team and I’m very happy for the guys. The battle with Checo was very clean and fair, and when you’re fighting for the podium you give everything but always stay within the lines. It was good fun. The end of the race was hard because I had to battle from the moment the safety car came in until the end of the race. I was behind Checo and I felt I had a little more pace, but I was in dirty air and that caused me to struggle towards the end. I held back Ricciardo for as long as I could and I managed to stay ahead of Vettel. It’s a great achievement for the team and we’ve shown once again that we are competitive so hopefully we can keep up the momentum in China.”

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“Today is one of the greatest days in the history of our team. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s very satisfying to see Sahara Force India back on the podium after so many near misses in recent years. We have a great driver line-up and today we saw both Checo and Nico at their best as they battled for a place on the podium. Without the safety car our two-stop strategies would have been much more comfortable because we faced a strong assault from the Red Bulls in the closing stages. Nico did a fantastic job to keep them back for so long and hold on to fifth place. It gave Checo the breathing space he needed to secure third place. So I’m extremely proud of everyone in the team and congratulate all of them on this achievement. 2014 is a new chance and we have shown we're moving forward in Australia, Malaysia and here. I couldn't be happier."

Formula1.com 

Bahrain GP - Qualification - Force India Driver Quotes

Sergio Perez (5th, Q3 - 1:34.346)
"It was definitely a great qualifying session and the team did a fantastic job to give me such a competitive car. After the problems we had in the first two races I feel this has been the first real opportunity to show the potential of the car. I believe we could have been even closer to the front, but I couldn't warm up my brakes enough on the out lap of my final run in Q3 and so I didn’t improve. We're already thinking about tomorrow and I think the clear target must be to aim for the podium. We're in the best possible position to fight at the front and I’m going to make the most of it. I've got some very good memories of this track but tomorrow I want to create even better ones."

Nico Hulkenberg (12th, Q2 - 1:35.116)
“My lap in Q2 was not the best one. I made a mistake in turn 11 and ran wide on the exit kerb, which completely ruined my lap. I lost a couple of tenths and that made the difference between making it into Q3 and missing out. I do believe the chance for a good result tomorrow is still there and I feel optimistic. We showed on Friday that we have good long run pace and I have two new sets of soft tyres for the race. The strategy decisions for tomorrow will be important to help me move forward and with the cooler conditions it should be easier on the tyres compared to Malaysia.”

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
“Qualifying under the floodlights looked spectacular tonight and Sahara Force India put on a good show. Sergio has been quick all weekend and his qualifying performance today puts us in a strong position to challenge for a great finish tomorrow. It looks like he will start from fourth place, which is the best starting position for a Force India since the 2012 German Grand Prix [Hulkenberg started fourth]. Nico also should have been up there with Sergio in the top ten, but he made a small mistake on his final lap in Q2. It’s disappointing but tomorrow is the most important day and hopefully he can demonstrate the competitive long run pace we saw during practice yesterday.”

Formula1.com 

Baharain GP - Friday practice - Force India drivers quotes

Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:39.102, 9th; P2 - 1:35.802, 10th
“Today was positive; we managed to complete our programme and we're quite happy with the car, especially on the prime tyre. I was able to complete some long runs and that will give us plenty to analyse tonight. The track temperature and conditions change a lot between the late afternoon and the evening, and it's something we were expecting. We will keep working to improve the car for tomorrow, but we can be satisfied with the amount and quality of work done today.”

Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:38.122, 4th; P2 - 1:35.998, 13th
“It was quite a good day for us; we did not do a lot of running but when we were out on track the running we did was quite good. First practice was not that representative because the race will be held at a completely different time of the day and with very different conditions, but the second session was a more realistic. We did some quality running in this session and we looked okay. I felt quite comfortable in the car and we just need to do some tweaks to the set-up tonight. I think we have a good starting point for the rest of the weekend.”

Robert Fernley, deputy team principal
“Another solid day of practice with both cars getting through our programmes without any significant concerns. It was good to see Sergio complete so many laps given the difficulties we had in Malaysia on his car and he seemed very comfortable today. Nico also made good progress and we were encouraged by the competitive long run pace. So I think we are in reasonably good shape going into the weekend.”

Source : Formula1.com 
 

Hulkenberg wary of Williams and McLaren

Nico Hulkenberg is refusing to write off Williams and McLaren in Bahrain despite being on pace with the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in Malaysia.

While Hulkenberg was in a personal battle with Alonso for much of the race, McLaren and Williams found themselves further down the field. But Hulkenberg does not believe that is a trend that will continue in Bahrain.

"In Malaysia we had a surprisingly good performance on Sunday, certainly above what we expected," Hulkenberg said. "We were quite clear on McLaren and Williams which was a little bit of a surprise but here things will be a little bit more tricky and a bit more tight."

However Hulkenberg is delighted with how the season has gone so far and thinks the team is in a good position to extend that run in Sakhir.

"It's a really positive start to the season for us, 18 points for me already, which is really good. I feel we have a good foundation and need to keep pushing and doing what we can because it's a good time to pick up good points. The whole team is very positive and everyone is working in the right direction. We had two strong races and we are just trying to keep the momentum there by plugging away with good results."

He also played down the idea he was competing with Alonso in Melbourne and Sepang, pointing to the strategy in both races as proof Force India still has a way to go to consider themselves on a par with Ferrari.

"Australia was not quite a battle, I was in front of me and he overtook me through strategy. And then in Malaysia there was not much I could offer in the end, I was struggling with my tyres and he was on a fresh set of softs. I tried to make him work a little bit for the move but when he's coming at me at two second a lap there's not much I can offer in return."

En.espnf1.com

Bahrain GP - Force India preview quotes

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2013 Qualifying - 14th, 2013 Race - 12th
"The performance in Malaysia was very encouraging, especially because we managed it with a two-stop strategy and nobody else near the front managed that. We've had two good races and have scored a lot of points already. I think we have a strong foundation and we can now build on that. The car is good, but there are still areas that we need to focus and work on so we have to keep the development rate high. In terms of performance I expect something similar to Malaysia. I think the aim must be for us to qualify in the top ten again and score some more points. To be honest Bahrain hasn't been the best place for me and I've never had a good result there. So we're going to change that this year!"

Sergio Perez, Force India
2013 Qualifying - 12th, 2013 Race - 6th
"It's a very good thing that the disappointment will only last a couple of days before we go to Bahrain, so I'm looking forward to it. The whole weekend in Malaysia was frustrating, but hopefully we can achieve a great result in Bahrain. I feel that we are in good shape, so hopefully we can deliver a strong performance there. If we keep out of trouble, we should have the pace to score points and get our season back on track. Last year I had a good race with McLaren and it was one of my best races. Also, I won there in GP2. Normally it's a good track for me, so I'm looking forward to it."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"I don't think there will be any surprises. In Malaysia rain is always the unknown factor and we had plenty of it during qualifying. We had a dry race and we wanted to see how we would cope with the heat, as that was an important element of the whole car design for this year. We were alright and all our temperatures were within our parameters, so that's good. In Bahrain it will be similar so we don't expect any unknowns there and hopefully we'll have a good race."

Source : Formula1.com