Force India keen to retain Perez and Hulkenberg

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya insists he wants to retain the services of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg for 2016.

The Mexican is coming off a strong Belgian Grand Prix weekend, qualifying fifth before battling to the same position in the race. His German team-mate has also been performing convincingly this year, though he had a more difficult time at Spa where a turbo issue on his Mercedes-powered VJM08 forced him into an early retirement.

By securing his and Force India’s season-best finish in Belgium, Perez has jumped ahead of Hulkenberg in the Drivers’ standings for one point, while the Silverstone-based team is now trailing fifth-placed Lotus by the same margin.

Asked by the official Formula One website whether he was keen to continue with the same line-up next year, Mallya replied: “I have always said that I am delighted with both of them and I want to keep both of them.

“Checo [Sergio Perez] put in a super performance all weekend [at Spa] and for him a podium finish was very much within reach.

“Imagine if Nico had had a similarly clean race as Checo! He definitely would have finished in the points and we would not have fallen back in the Constructors’ standings to P6.”

Despite missing out once again on a Ferrari drive following Kimi Raikkonen's re-signing at Maranello, Hulkenberg says he still had “a few good options” for next year.

After his short-lived McLaren spell, Perez remains eager to have a second shot at a top team seat but his name has not been a prominent one on the rumour mill this summer.

Click here for a lighter look at the Belgian Grand Prix, courtesy of F1i special contributor Eric Silbermann.

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