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Force India set for aero, engine upgrade in Malaysia

Force India is planning further aero upgrades, as well as a move to the latest Mercedes power unit, for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India VJM10

Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India VJM10

Sutton Images

 Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India F1 VJM10
 Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India F1 VJM10
 Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India F1 VJM10
 Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India F1 VJM10
Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Team VF-17 and Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India VJM10 pit
Sahara Force India VJM10 in the garage
 Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India F1 VJM10

With the team clear in its ambition to get both cars scoring points in the remaining races of the season, it is showing no sign of backing on with development of its 2017 car to focus on next year.

Technical director Andy Green said that new aerodynamic parts were being readied for the Sepang event, as the team also expressed some hope it could unleash more potential from the upgrade package it introduced in Singapore.

"We've got some new bits coming again for Malaysia," said Green. "There will be some more aero tweaks around the bodywork. There is still lots of to do. It is all relevant for next year so we keep pushing on."

"The [Singapore] package is quite new too, so there will be more refinement. We definitely didn't find the sweet spot, as we proved to ourselves in qualifying, so there is a lot more to do on it.

"It definitely changed the car, so it will need a bit of work. But there is more coming. We fully expect our target will be to get both cars in the points from every race until the end of the season."

As well as improvements to the chassis, Force India is likely to join Williams in getting hold of the latest specification Mercedes power unit, which will be its fourth and final one of the year.

The team had been disappointed not to have had it available for the power tracks in Belgium and Italy, with Mercedes having held back releasing it to customers while it continued to perfect reliability.

When asked if both Force Indias would get the new Mercedes, COO Otmar Szafnauer said: "That is the plan, unless they [Mercedes] change their mind between now and then."

Force India looks almost certain to finish fourth in the constructors' championship this year, even though mathematically the fight for positions is still well open.

The Silverstone-based outfit has a 65-point advantage over Williams with six races to go, while Toro Rosso is only a further seven points back.

Although in theory the gap can be closed down quickly if Williams scores some strong double points finishes, the chances of it scoring more points in the final six races than it scored in the first 14 events are slim.

 

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