Mallya hopes Monaco was a turning point for Force India

Vijay Mallya hopes the surprise podium in the Monaco Grand Prix will prove to be a turning point for Force India.

Sergio Perez finished third and Nico Hulkenberg sixth to give Force India its first double points finish of the season, with the team picking up 23 points in total. With Force India showing good pace but struggling slightly for results prior to Monaco, team principal Mallya is hopeful the team can continue its form in Canada.

“Monaco was a very significant weekend for us," Mallya said. "It’s one of the most famous races in the world and I felt incredibly proud to see Checo standing on the podium. It’s a memory that will stay with me forever.

"It was a brilliant team effort and a much deserved reward for all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to keep pushing us forward. There was some late drama too with Nico snatching sixth place on the line in a race where the strategy didn’t allow him to show his true potential.

“The Monaco performance means we come to Canada full of confidence. The 23 points we claimed in Monaco lifted us to fifth place in the championship. I’ve been saying all season that our luck needs to change and I hope that Monaco represents a turning point.

"We now have some momentum and I believe we can push on and keep racking up the points in the races to come. Montreal should play to our strengths and I’m feeling optimistic that we can get both cars well inside the top ten in qualifying and the race.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.