“Therefore to see Jenson finish the race in tenth place with Rubens just behind – in spite of his problems in the third free practice session – is very encouraging and a real indication of the car’s pace. There is still a great deal of work to do, but we are really starting to make improvements one step at a time.
“Our next development step will be introduced for Barcelona, where we will see another aero update and we also plan to have some new suspension components. Of course every team will have updates, but we feel the rate of our own progress is significant and we are hopeful that it will see us take a step up the grid for the start of the European season.”
Dr Vijay Mallya [Force India F1 – chairman and managing director]:
“Overall we have shown a genuine improvement in pace in Malaysia from last season. In 2007 this team was at the back of the grid; this year we were just 0.05 seconds from getting into Q2. We have bettered our fastest lap by over two seconds – more than any other team on the grid – but more importantly we showed that we are now able to race and are no longer the team bringing up the rear of the field.
“Unfortunately Adrian once again went out in the early stages through no fault of his own, which sadly denied him the chance to show how he could do under race conditions, but Giancarlo drove an excellent race, setting some very promising times and was able to fight for position. I feel this is highly promising for the rest of the season.”
Mike Gascoyne [Force India F1 – chief technical officer]:
“Some real positives from the weekend, but also some very bad luck for Adrian. He had had a difficult weekend until the race, but then made a great start and his race pace was looking really strong; it’s a real shame we had a hydraulic issue on his car very early on.
