Force India are confident they can mount a challenge to surpass McLaren in the constructors’ standings after falling behind in recent races.
The Silverstone-based outfit started strong but following a change in the tyres after the British GP, their string of points finishes came to an end, which allowed McLaren to catch up.
Team co-owner Vijay Mallya expects a close fight, but is confident they can overcome the five points deficit if things go to plan this weekend.
“It is going to be a close fight, but the good news is that McLaren still aren’t that far ahead,” he said. “They only scored one point in Monza, so they are definitely catchable.
“We need to perform better ourselves, that’s very clear. We’re working hard to find more performance, but at the same time we’ve made it quite clear that we will not compromise next year’s programme. It’s always a balancing act, but we know what we need to do.”
After scoring just two points in the last four races, Mallya underlined the fact that they need to start scoring again – starting in Singapore.
“We’ve been strong in Singapore, especially last year. Hopefully that will continue this year, but we know we’ve got to get on top of the tyres to unleash the potential of the car. Points must be the target for this weekend to keep up our momentum in the championship fight.”
