Force India team principal Vijay Mallya believes the Silverstone-based outfit will "certainly be in the points" when the 2014 Formula 1 season kicks off in Australia.
The 58-year-old also expects the teams running the Mercedes V6 Turbo power-unit to have a clear advantage and will be presented with a "great opportunity" at the first four fly-away races.
The team's 2014 challenger looked reliable at the final pre-season test in Bahrain, setting the pace on the opening two days and completing 402 laps overall.
Mallya travelled to Bahrain to watch the 12th and final day of winter testing. Asked in an interview with the official Formula 1 website if he was satisfied with the progress, he replied: "We are doing reasonably well. Actually I am quite pleased, but largely because of the number of laps that we’ve managed to achieve.
"We started off being overawed by the technical challenge, but we’ve come to terms with understanding the car better. We are now able to run it more reliably - and the result is the many laps we’ve been able to do at the two Bahrain tests. It is a good feeling to know that reliability has been established positively.
"Now let’s talk about the pace: there is more to come. We had a few problems at the last Bahrain test and we still have more performance to get out of the car, so the fact that we are consistently among the top three is something that is very encouraging for the whole team. If we manage to ensure reliability - even at the current level of performance - I think when we go racing we will certainly be in the points - touch wood."
He didn't want to test his luck by predicting a podium, but he feels the teams with Mercedes power have the early advantage. "I would say that my decision to go with Mercedes early last year and to sign a long-term agreement with them was the right decision - the results speak for themselves," he said. "The Mercedes-powered teams are clearly ahead and are currently more reliable than the others."
Commenting on the outfit's promising driver line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, he said: "I am very happy with our two guys. Nico is a highly talented and highly rated driver and I am very glad to have him back. Checo Perez was selected by none other than McLaren. And if he was found to be good enough to get a McLaren race seat, I know that he also has a great amount of ability. Nico and Checo will do very well for us."
When asked about his expectations for the first four fly-away rounds in Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain and China, he replied: "The first four races present a great opportunity, particularly for the Mercedes-powered teams, because so far they are showing that they are ahead of the rest. But in the end it will be all about - here comes the word again - reliability. You can do many fancy things during testing, but a race is a race and the conditions of a race are very different.
"By the time we get back to Europe many teams will have sorted out their issues and some big upgrades will be coming from Barcelona onwards. So yes, my guess is that these four races will be a bit of a luxury for the Mercedes-powered teams - and once we get to Europe, that is where some serious racing will start."
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| © Octane Photographic |
The team's 2014 challenger looked reliable at the final pre-season test in Bahrain, setting the pace on the opening two days and completing 402 laps overall.
Mallya travelled to Bahrain to watch the 12th and final day of winter testing. Asked in an interview with the official Formula 1 website if he was satisfied with the progress, he replied: "We are doing reasonably well. Actually I am quite pleased, but largely because of the number of laps that we’ve managed to achieve.
"We started off being overawed by the technical challenge, but we’ve come to terms with understanding the car better. We are now able to run it more reliably - and the result is the many laps we’ve been able to do at the two Bahrain tests. It is a good feeling to know that reliability has been established positively.
"Now let’s talk about the pace: there is more to come. We had a few problems at the last Bahrain test and we still have more performance to get out of the car, so the fact that we are consistently among the top three is something that is very encouraging for the whole team. If we manage to ensure reliability - even at the current level of performance - I think when we go racing we will certainly be in the points - touch wood."
He didn't want to test his luck by predicting a podium, but he feels the teams with Mercedes power have the early advantage. "I would say that my decision to go with Mercedes early last year and to sign a long-term agreement with them was the right decision - the results speak for themselves," he said. "The Mercedes-powered teams are clearly ahead and are currently more reliable than the others."
Commenting on the outfit's promising driver line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, he said: "I am very happy with our two guys. Nico is a highly talented and highly rated driver and I am very glad to have him back. Checo Perez was selected by none other than McLaren. And if he was found to be good enough to get a McLaren race seat, I know that he also has a great amount of ability. Nico and Checo will do very well for us."
When asked about his expectations for the first four fly-away rounds in Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain and China, he replied: "The first four races present a great opportunity, particularly for the Mercedes-powered teams, because so far they are showing that they are ahead of the rest. But in the end it will be all about - here comes the word again - reliability. You can do many fancy things during testing, but a race is a race and the conditions of a race are very different.
"By the time we get back to Europe many teams will have sorted out their issues and some big upgrades will be coming from Barcelona onwards. So yes, my guess is that these four races will be a bit of a luxury for the Mercedes-powered teams - and once we get to Europe, that is where some serious racing will start."
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