Force India hopes to beat McLaren F1

Vijay Mallya, the owner of Force India, hopes that his team will achieve the scalp of McLaren by finishing 5th in the constructors’ championship. To reach this goal, the Indian team plans improvements for the end of this season.

During the last Grand Prix in Singapore, the Silverstone team scored 8 points (Sergio Perez finishing 7th and Nico Hülkenberg 9th), while McLaren only salvaged the point for 10th place with Kevin Magnussen. Enough to make Mallya happy for the end of the season, as McLaren is having the worst difficulties improving its car, despite frequent updates on the MP4-29.

In the Indian camp, Mallya is, on the contrary, optimistic about the updates to the VJM07 which are proving to be effective; he hopes to maintain this positive momentum to start the 2015 campaign well: « I know there is another update that will be made later this season, which will represent the framework for our end of the season. The only reason I approved this development until the end of the season, something I had never done before in previous seasons, is because everything we do in terms of development can be carried over to the car for next year » he explained to Sky Sports.

Mallya says he is proud to see his team competing with McLaren, whose budget is much higher than his own: « I refer to McLaren as “the great McLaren.” I truly believe they are a contender for the World Championship, so I am not going to take the 5th place for granted. I promise you that we are going to fight like devils. For a team like Force India to be engaged in a competitive battle with a team like the great McLaren makes me very proud, and I am very happy with the progress made. »

The Indian businessman confirmed that he wanted to continue his collaboration with Sergio Perez and Nico Hülkenberg: « Both have the same talent and both have earned my respect. I have confirmed it before: I am not looking to change anything. I am very happy with both, » he concluded.