Force India is targeting fourth place in the constructors’ championship ahead of the introduction of its B-spec car at the British Grand Prix.
The team’s launch car was designed to be updated mid-season, with the focus being to remain in touch in the battle for fifth in the constructors’. However, having exceeding expectations in the opening eight rounds - culminating in a double points result in Austria - Force India already sits in fifth place and deputy team principal Bob Fernley told F1i the target needs to be revised.
“I think we’ve got to wait for Silverstone to see the validation is there for what we believe and if it is there then I think we’re in for a very strong second half of the season,” Fernley said.
“The first thing to do is to make sure that we’ve got a margin on Lotus. If we’re got a margin on Lotus, Red Bull at the next circuits will be stronger - their aero package is always good - but if we’ve made the difference that we think we have, clearly fourth place is something we would be aiming for. It’s only 20 points…”
And Fernley says Force India’s financial troubles over the winter led to observers overlooking the work it was doing to restructure its aerodynamic department to be more competitive in future.
“The problem is because of all the financial issues and the fact we were late getting our car out, everything was focused on financial. In reality we’ve undertaken a massive restructuring program of our aero process, philosophy, department and moved wind tunnels. We’ve done all that in a six month period.
“From the back end of last season to Silverstone will be the first major upgrade that we’ve brought in. If that does deliver what we expect it to deliver, there’s already more in the pipeline.
“There was no point in us trying to fight the opinions of people who were looking at it purely as money-driven. Were there money issues? Of course there were. Was that the key reason why we were behind in Barcelona? No, it wasn’t. A lot of the stuff we’ve been doing [internally] is that. I think we have to prove it on the track, because at the end of the day that’s what people believe.”
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