New Delhi, April 1 (Inditop.com) Buoyed by his team’s performance in the first two Formula One races, Force India owner Vijay Mallya said he is expecting his team to be a regular top-10 finisher.
Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi notched up eight points by finishing ninth in Bahrain and seventh in Melbourne. The Italian would be looking to score a hat-trick of points at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang this weekend.
Adrian Sutil, however, has been unimpressive and despite qualifying 10th on the grid in the first two races, the German could only manage 12th place in Sakhir before retiring with an engine problem after just nine laps in Melbourne.
Mallya said he was disappointed with Sutil’s performance and would hope to see both the drivers score points in Malaysia.
‘I have always maintained that the car was competitive, particularly in race pace, and now we expect our cars to be finishing in the top 10 and in the points,’ Mallya said.
‘Tonio drove exceptionally well and scored points but it was very disappointing about Adrian,’ he said.
‘Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of it and make sure it doesn’t happen in the future. I’m pleased with what we got, although you always think it could have been better. So, I’m looking forward to the next race where I’d like to see both cars coming home in the points.’
Mallya said he has high hopes from his team in the Malaysian race.
‘I think we have every reason to be confident. The cars are clearly capable of being in the top 10. I just hope we don’t have any bad luck in terms of extraordinary events or incidents. If both cars get a good clean race, I think both should be in the points.’
Sutil, meanwhile, said the Malaysian race is physically demanding but he is well prepared.
‘I really want to get some points on board in this race, I’ve had two races where I should have scored, so I want to finish the job now. Malaysia is such a tough event with the heat and the humidity. You can lose up to four kilos over the race so fitness and concentration is absolutely key.’
‘The night after the Australian Grand Prix, I flew straight to Malaysia to acclimatise. I’ve also spent three days in Langkawi training, doing a lot of running, swimming, sea kayaking and just getting used to the conditions,’ he said.
Liuzzi said after a good beginning, he is looking forward to some big results.
‘I am ready for big results as long as the car stays together and gives me the possibility. I had a really strong race when I came back in Monza last year, and we are scoring points now. I just want to give back as much as I can to the team because they believed in me.’
‘Unfortunately to match Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren’s speed is difficult for us, but the team is working really hard. For us the main competitor at the beginning seemed to be Renault, but now they’ve made a big step forward. I think it will be our main target to try to catch them in Malaysia to beat them in the championship.’
