"What I have realised is that I am not only catching up from last season, but catching up from the last three seasons," he admitted, "And we have caught up, even though Formula One has become so competitive.

"In a way, that half a second means a lot - a tenth of a second means a lot - which was never the case before. Even in such an environment, Force India has clearly demonstrated that we have caught up and improved. Whether it is enough or not is a different issue.

"One also has to realise that in Formula One things don't happen from one season to the next. Even Ferrari, McLaren and Williams had - and still have - their ups and downs. It can take years to actually start performing. Take the case of Toyota.... People should not expect miracles from me in the first season, but I promise a good show in 2009!"