The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Force India hoping to open its account

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Force India hoping to open its account

Barcelona: As the Formula One circuit comes to Europe for the first time this season, Force India is banking on new aero package to reach the second qualifying session and, if possible, open its account in the Spanish Grand Prix here on Sunday.

The first three Grands Prix so far have seen the outfit racing in the midfield and getting closer to going into Q2.

In the last race in Bahrain, the team achieved its first double finish of the year and with new developments honed in a further three-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya last week, the management is hoping that the upward trend will continue.

“One-tenth of a second has never mattered as much as now. All the guys at the track and back at the factory are doing everything they possibly can to get every millisecond and we are now tantalisingly close to that competitive midfield group. I have every confidence and no doubt that it will come,” Force India Chairman and Managing Director, Vijay Mallya, said.

“We’re no longer at the back and though it will get tougher here on in, it’s a golden opportunity for us. No one expects miracles, but the fact that we qualified close to the top 16 and finished in the top 12 in Malaysia and Bahrain demonstrates everything is happening strongly and positively,” he said.

Team principal Colin Kolles rued Giancarlo Fisichella missing out on Q2 in Bahrain by just over one-tenth of a second. He, however, expects things to change here and has already set the target for the team.

“Our targets this time out will be to reach Q2 in qualifying and to score points. We are working very hard to reach these targets and I am confident we will reach them sooner rather than later,” Kolles said. — PTI

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