Mallya: I want to finish 5th in the Constructors’ Championship

After a very successful and competitive European Grand Prix, Force India team principal and co-owner Vijay Mallya is now confident that his team can finish fifth in this years Constructors’ Championship. With a highly competitive midfield this season, it will be a hard season-long battle to finish ahead of the likes of Williams and Sauber.

Although the European Grand Prix was by far Force India’s most competitive all-round race weekend of the year, Vijay Mallya wasn’t entirely satisfied with qualifying. Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta started 8th and 10th respectively, however the team boss was hoping for a top five result.

“In fact I was hoping for a better qualifying result, but in Q3 maybe both overdrove the car, locked up the wheels etc.” Explained Vijay Mallya, “So we started eighth and tenth while I was actually hoping to start in the top five. We are only one point shy of Williams right now and 16 points away from Sauber, who have had podium finishes. So we are getting there. We are definitely on target. I want to finish fifth in the constructors’ championship this year and - fingers crossed - it looks like we’re getting there.”

When asked whether it was a surprise that both his cars enjoyed a highly competitive race, Vijay Mallya stated that he actually expected a similar result in Canada. However, with this race greatly effected by tyre wear towards the end of he race, the Force India duo could only manage 11th and 12th, only just outside the points paying positions.

“Speaking frankly, we should have had the same or a similar result in Canada. But there we completely miscalculated the tyre behavior.” Continued Vijay Mallya, “We ran the tyres too hot and subsequent analysis confirmed that this was a mistake on our part. We now have our sights set on Silverstone and we go there with a great deal of confidence, knowing that our car is competitive.”

During the European Grand Prix weekend, the team principals up and down the grid came together to discuss the Resource Restrictions Agreement (RRA), something which Vijay Mallya backs greatly. The Force India boss believes it is imperative that the RRA provides a level playing field, which in turn would then provide races similar to what we have seen this season. With top teams falling amongst the midfield and midfield teams rising to the top, Vijay Mallya believes this is the sort of Formula 1 he (and many fans) wishes to see more off.

“I think that the RRA is something that everybody agrees to, in principal.” Said Vijay Mallya, “Even when FOTA was together - and active - all the teams agreed with the concept of resource restriction. The concept of the RRA is a must-have if Formula One is to survive in the long term. It also must provide a level playing field. Look at the amount of excitement this season. We have had seven winners and only one repeat victor, which is fantastic. So resource restriction is important and the FIA has now taken it upon itself to create regulations aimed at restricting resources. At the last World Council meeting it was agreed that we will have a fax vote at the end of June. We at Force India are completely committed to the concept.”

With Force India striving for possibly a podium finish at the first of their two homes races in 2012, the team will be hoping their upgrades work well with the car. The team haven’t stepped on the podium since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, when Giancarlo Fisichella finished 2nd. In this highly unpredictable season, anything is possible if the team can get those all-important Pirelli tyres to work.

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