Force India believes it has yet to display its full potential in 2018 after numerous incidents and is counting on a change of fortunes this weekend when Formula 1 returns to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Silverstone-based squad finished just outside the points in Australia as they lacked the pace to challenge the top 10.
In Bahrain Esteban Ocon qualified in the top 10 and Sergio Perez did the same in China in eighth, however the pair were both involved in opening lap incidents which damaged their points scoring prospects.
Team boss Vijay Mallya says this, combined with the fact the grid is so closely matched, means recovering from such issues is "very difficult", but is hopeful they can return to the points this weekend in Baku, where the team has typically performed strongly.
"Baku will be an important weekend for us and we’re determined to get back into the points," he said. "The first few races haven’t delivered the results we were expecting, but this was mostly due to circumstances that worked against us.
"We were involved in first lap incidents that dropped us down the order in Bahrain and in China, and we didn’t show our true potential. With such a closely matched midfield, it’s very difficult to recover if you lose so much ground at the start of a race.
"On the positive side we’ve shown good progress with our car performance since Melbourne. We have made Q3 in the last two races and we understand the car more. It’s time for our luck to turn and the results to follow."
Perez is confident Force India has top 10 pace in the car, but says things just haven't worked out for the team so far this season.
"The first few races haven’t gone very smoothly for me," he admitted. "I think I’ve been unlucky, especially in Bahrain, but I know it sometimes happens in racing.
"The last race in China was really disappointing because I lost out on lap one and there was no way to recover to the points. Our pace was competitive and we took another step forward with the car performance, but things just didn’t work out on race day."
