Force India must quickly recover

While some mid-field teams are performing well at the start of the season, Force India is off to a slow start with only nine points after three Grands Prix. The Indian team will have to raise its level of play to claim fifth place in the Manufacturers' Championship, a goal clearly stated by Vijay Mallya. The Chinese Grand Prix was disappointing for the men of the Indian team as Paul di Resta only finished 12th while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg finished the race in 16th place.

Nevertheless, Team Principal Bob Fernley remains convinced that the car is in the rhythm and explains these mediocre results by a lack of luck and exacerbated competition. “We always felt that scoring points would require a bit of luck. Paul (di Resta) was in the fight for the top ten and he finished only eight seconds behind seventh place and 22 seconds behind second, which shows to what extent the level could be raised. Nico's race was compromised by a poor position in the peloton and a damaged front wing, but his race pace encouraged us particularly in the final laps. We know that we are not too far from our direct rivals and we hope to be able to quickly reduce this gap. »

Discover the analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad and from Wednesday on newsstands.