Sergio Perez says Force India faces a substantial threat from both Renault and McLaren if it is to finish fourth in the Constructors' standings for a third straight season.
The Silverstone-based team has finished in fourth place across 2016/17, behind only Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, and in front of more prestigious operations, most notably Renault and McLaren.
Renault has been expanding its workforce since returning to Formula 1 two years ago, while McLaren has now switched to using the French marque's power units, following three uncompetitive seasons with Honda.
"I think McLaren is one definitely to watch out for and also Renault as they’ve been improving a lot," said Perez.
"I also strongly believe in Force India so it is going to be a tough battle in the midfield and hopefully we can race a lot closer to the top three teams this season and we can have a more enjoyable F1 for all of us."
Perez had numerous clashes with team-mate Esteban Ocon in 2017, most notably in Azerbaijan and Belgium, where collisions cost the team potential strong results.
When asked if there was any contact over the winter he added: "No. Not at all. I didn’t send flowers to him, let’s put it that way! There was not a lot of communication and everyone wanted to have a quiet time.
"We both know we are not like best friends but we both respect each other and we want to work well for the benefit of the team.
"Now he has experience we have to push the team forward together to get the best possible result because it is going to be a massive year for Force India as there are big teams coming and big teams that are going to push us very hard. I believe it is going to be a hard year for us."
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