Perez: Podium now Force India's target

Sergio Perez says Force India needs to target podiums on a more regular basis thanks to the updated VJM08.

Following a lack of updates during the early part of the season while Force India restructured its aerodynamic program, the team introduced a B-spec car at the British Grand Prix. Scoring points with both cars at Silverstone was seen as a major step forward, but reliability issues resulted in a scoreless race in Hungary.

Force India bounced back with a strong showing in Belgium, with Perez starting from the second row and eventually finishing fifth having run second early on. With the car consistently quick on different types of track, Perez says is setting his aims high for the rest of the year.

“The race in Belgium was good fun: it's always nice to battle at the front and, even though we didn't manage to get onto the podium, it was good to come away with our best result of the season so far," Perez said. "Our performance is improving and we are taking the opportunities when they arise. We have seen that we can now fight with nearly everyone and it's important we keep aiming for the podium.

“Monza is a true power track and so we go there confident of being competitive. It’s never easy to overtake and the strategy options are quite limited, and so getting the job done in qualifying is especially important. In the race it’s a case of being flat out all the way and being accurate with your braking points.

“My feeling with the updated car is very good now. Spa was the most comfortable I’ve been this season and it showed in the results. We need to go to Monza and deliver a similar performance.”

Click here for a look back at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix from Monza, when the top five cars were covered by just 0.61s.

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