Force India banking on new package in British GP

Force India is banking on the next stage of its aero development programme to notch up yet another mid-field finish in the British Grand Prix.

It may still not be enough to score their maiden Formula One points but Force India is banking on the next stage of its aero development programme to notch up yet another mid-field finish in the British Grand Prix here on Sunday.

Keyed up ahead of its home race at the Silverstone circuit right opposite its headquarters,Force India is hoping to make the second qualifying session (Q2) for the third race in a row on Saturday before taking it from there.

“We made Q2 in Monaco,we made Q2 again in Istanbul,obviously not by chance,but on merit and that is a huge step forward. Now we’ve had two in a row,and hopefully with a new upgrade to come in Silverstone we should make Q2 going forward for the rest of this season,and without too much difficulty,” Vijay Mallya,chairman,Force India,said.

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“We’re not quite in the points yet,but we’re a good midfield competitor,” he added.

Silverstone is traditionally where teams introduce their next stage of development. According to Mallya,Force India too would introduce a whole new package.

“We have a fairly large upgrade scheduled for this weekend. We will introduce changes to the front wing,bodywork and floor with one or two detail updates elsewhere as well.

“It’s a significant step forward and I am very pleased that the team has been able to explore,build and then get this on the car before the summer break,” Mallya,who also is the team principal,said.

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Force India’s German driver Adrian Sutil also cannot wait to get going with the new updates,which he expects to make an impact in the timesheet.

According to Sutil,We have a new aero package at Silverstone and I am really looking forward to driving it. We’ve looked at the numbers back in the factory and it shows a clear improvement so I am keen to get my hands on it and really try and mix it up in the midfield.

He added,”I had quite a good race in Turkey and could fight with both the McLarens and also a Brawn so just a little bit more performance could see us in the hunt for points. But it’s so competitive out there we have to be right on top of our game right through from free practice.”

The other driver,Giancarlo Fisichella,was particularly geared up ahead of the race and said he would do anything to score the team’s first F1 points.

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“Whole team works so hard and quite often for little reward in terms of points. I really hope I can put on a good show. With the new upgrades coming through I’m pretty confident that would be possible,” said the veteran Italian driver.