Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya says he is “proud” of the manner in which the Silverstone-based team began the 2017 campaign, and is confident of making further progress across the coming events.
Force India captured a double points finish in Australia, with Sergio Pérez passing both Toro Rosso drivers en route to seventh place, while newcomer Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10, following a late move on McLaren rival Fernando Alonso.
The result has left Force India in fifth place in the standings, one point behind Williams and one point in front of Toro Rosso in a congested midfield group.
“I was proud of our performance in Australia,” said Mallya.
“We achieved our objective of getting both cars home in the points and we’ve got our season underway. Psychologically it’s an important boost to get points on the board at the first race.
"Sergio and Esteban were in the thick of the action and both drivers took their opportunities to overtake.
“Sergio’s experience showed as he delivered another fantastic drive, while our new recruit, Esteban, earned his first point in Formula 1. To leave Melbourne with both cars in the top ten was a tremendous team effort.
"Our expectations for Shanghai are similar to Melbourne. The development curve is going to be steep for all the teams so it will be interesting to see the pecking order at the end of the weekend.
“The midfield pack is exceptionally close at the moment and we need to work hard to stay at the front of that fight.”
Pérez was also lifted by Force India’s showing and believes it bodes well for the remainder of the campaign.
“The seventh place in Melbourne represents my best ever start to a season with this team and I have a good feeling for the races to come,” he said.
“In the last few years we’ve shown that we can develop the car well and that’s going to be especially important this year. We’ve already made a big step forward since pre-season testing.”
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