Force India doesn’t expect miracles in Melbourne
Very behind on its winter testing schedule, Force India believes it will need several Grand Prix to exploit the full potential of its car. The team expects to have difficulty reaching Q2 in Melbourne, but does not give up hope of scoring some points in the race.
After only two days of testing with the new VJM08, the Force India team will arrive in Melbourne significantly behind the competition. Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg will have to work miracles to achieve a decent qualification, although the team seems more optimistic about the race.
The technical director, Andrew Green, doesn’t see both his cars making it past Q2 in Australia: « The other competitors are a step ahead of us, it’s not great. It will be difficult for us to reach Q2. However, I think scoring points on Sunday is realistic. We have a good understanding of the new tires and can rely on the reliability of our engine. » he confided to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
For his part, Sergio Pérez also wants to believe, even though he deems the situation quite complicated to start the season: “We only had two days of testing. That’s a reality, and we can’t deny it. It will take us a few races to get to where we want to be. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We are at the back due to our limited running time. But we have made promising starts, and we need to make the best of the situation. I think we are a few steps behind the others.”
The progression of Force India could be disrupted this year compared to previous seasons. If usually, the Indian team starts the season with a bang before gradually falling back due to limited technical development, Vijay Mallya’s men might well make the opposite progression this year as Andrew Green believes: In the past, we have been very conservative because we didn’t really have any leeway. Usually, we have a strong start to the season and then we gradually fall back. This time, we have to do the opposite.
Comments supported by Sergio Pérez, who has already experienced this kind of situation during his time at McLaren two years ago: « I have been in this situation before, with McLaren, and it took us five races to realize where we were and to take action. Now, what we did on the second day of testing was an impressive effort, and we must work hard to reach the level we want to be at. We have clear directions to work toward. »
