Vijay Mallya is confident of a strong result for Force India at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, as the team principal claims more performance can be found in the updates introduced on the VJM09 in Britain.
The Silverstone-based outfit holds a strong fifth in the Constructors’ championship with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg both regularly featuring in the points before the summer break.
Asked about the expectations for his team at Spa-Francorchamps, Mallya replied: “More of the same, I hope.
“We are performing well and delivering results, and Spa represents a good opportunity to continue our run of points finishes. The updates we introduced at Silverstone have made a difference and there is still more performance to be extracted from our chassis.
“I think all teams have now switched their focus to 2017 so the pecking order should not change dramatically. Some tracks will suit us more than others, but Spa is certainly a track where the VJM09 can be strong.”
Force India is only 15 points behind fourth-placed Williams in the standings. However, it should not be forgotten that the team experienced a slow start to its 2016 campaign with only eight points across the first four flyaway races. Mallya explains where he feels the momentum shifted.
“I regard our podium in Monaco [with Perez] as the turning point of our season – both in terms of the result and our public perception. Then, our strong showing in Baku [another podium for the Mexican] just reinforced the great job we are doing as a team. It’s a fierce battle in the midfield, but we are performing well.
“Since Monaco we have scored 67 points compared to the 31 of our nearest rival. If we continue scoring at this rate, it will be interesting to see where we can end the season.”
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