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Force India "not giving up" on catching Red Bull
Force India team owner Vijay Mallya says he is "not giving up" on catching Red Bull for third place in this year's constructors' championship.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Jul 25, 2017, 3:49 PM
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At the halfway point of the year, the Silverstone-based outfit lies a comfortable fourth in the teams' standings on 95 points, having scored with both Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon at every race bar Monaco and Baku.
Its best result came in the Spanish Grand Prix, where Perez and Ocon took fourth and fifth places.
Force India holds 54-point buffer over Williams in fifth place, but is 79 adrift of third-placed Red Bull, which has taken a race win with Daniel Ricciardo and five other podium finishes.
Mallya had set his outfit the target of finishing in the top three of the constructors' at the start of the season after it took its best finish yet with fourth in 2017, and the Indian insists that goal is still feasible despite Red Bull's advantage in terms of points and pace.
"We should have had nine [double points finishes] at least, but eight out of 10 is pretty good," said Mallya, referring to Perez and Ocon coming to blows on the opening lap in Baku.
"It’s very satisfying to see two good, competitive drivers. I couldn’t ask for more, two cars regularly in the points, it’s what we need.
"We’re up to 95 points in 10 races, we’ve never had this kind of points tally in the history of the team that I can remember. We’re 54 ahead of Williams, our nearest competitor, and slowly consolidating ourselves in fourth position.
"Let’s see what opportunities the second half of the season throws up. I’m not giving up on chasing Red Bull. it’s always good to set our targets high. That allows you to really challenge yourself.
"Whether we get that or not, finishing fourth a consecutive year is a credible achievement."
Asked whether the team has the resources to sustain a development programme needed to close the gap to Red Bull, Mallya pointed to the team's planned Singapore upgrade as evidence it plans to push to the end.
“If you’re able to plan an upgrade as far ahead as Singapore, obviously you have the resources to do it," he said.
"I said at the beginning of the year that given the fact the 2017 car is a brand new car with no carry over whatsoever from last year, we would have to engage in a robust development programme right through the year. So that was always planned and it’s no surprise to us.
"We need to fine-tune correlation. Every time we make a small step, we’re getting there. But when we finally find the sweet spot - which I hope is sooner rather than later - we should go very well.”
Additional reporting by Lawrence Barretto
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