Mallya challenges Force India to stay in touch with rivals

Vijay Mallya has challenged Force India to stay in touch with the teams ahead of it in the constructors' championship over the upcoming races.

Force India has started the season with an underdeveloped car having missed the majority of pre-season with its 2015 effort, and is targeting a major upgrade in Austria. While the team has scored points in two of the opening four rounds, the Spanish Grand Prix is set to be a tough weekend as its rivals bring updates to their cars and team principal Mallya doesn't want to be cut adrift in the standings.

“It’s fair to say that we’ve had mixed fortunes during the opening four races," Mallya said. "On the positive side, we’ve scored points in half the races and I’ve been impressed by the fighting spirit of the team. On the other hand, we know the VJM08 is not where we want it to be and that we need to work hard to unlock more of its potential.

“It’s still early days in the season, but it’s worth noting how closely-matched the midfield teams remain. There are times when we see up to ten cars within half a second of each other, which means that any improvements we can bring to the car will have a big impact on our results.

“Our pace has been improving with each race, but we will need to wait a little longer before we can make a big step. I’m optimistic about the updates we have planned and we are working hard to get them to the track as soon as possible. The priority over the next few races is to stay in touch with the teams around us. As it stands, fourth place in the championship is just 12 points ahead of us, so we need to keep fighting hard and picking up points when we can.”

Force India is currently eighth in the constructors' championship with 11 points, sitting one point behind both Lotus and Toro Rosso, eight points behind Sauber and 12 away from Red Bull in fourth.

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