Force India team principal Vijay Mallya says the podium the team scored in Baku this season gives it optimism for this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez scored his second podium of the year at Baku, beating the Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari on pace. With Baku a street circuit sharing similar characteristics to Singapore - and with Force India's other podium this season coming in Monaco - Mallya says the signs are his team should be strong at the Marina Bay Circuit.
“We’ve usually performed well in Singapore," Mallya said. "We’ve scored points in every race there since 2010 and had some very strong performances over the years.
"We had our best showing of the year in Baku on a circuit that shares many characteristics with Singapore so there’s every reason to feel optimistic. I think the warm conditions will work in our favour as well. Solid points must be the objective in Singapore and all the remaining races.”
While Force India will target a big result in Singapore, Mallya also believes the significance of its double points finish in Italy - where Perez was eighth and Nico Hulkenberg tenth - should not be overlooked.
“Qualifying and racing inside the top ten represented a good effort when you consider we never really found the sweet spot with the set-up. The five points we scored could prove valuable come the end of the year.
"To finish the European season just three points away from fourth place is an excellent achievement. I’m optimistic some of the upcoming races will play to our strengths more than Monza and I look forward to the hard work required to earn fourth place in the championship.”
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