Force India targeting redemptive points return in Baku

Force India is confident it can begin to show its “true potential” at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix following its low-key start to the 2018 Formula 1 season. 

After back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the constructors’ championship in 2016 and 2017, the Silverstone-based squad is languishing in a lowly ninth place in the standings following a tough start to the new campaign. 

Force India has managed to score just a single point so far this season - courtesy of Esteban Ocon’s 10th place finish in Bahrain - as the team appears to have fallen behind its midfield rivals while the likes of Renault, McLaren and Haas enjoyed significant gains over the winter. 

“Baku will be an important weekend for us and we’re determined to get back into the points,” Force India team principal Vijay Mallya said. “The first few races haven’t delivered the results we were expecting, but this was mostly due to circumstances that worked against us.

“We were involved in first lap incidents that dropped us down the order in Bahrain and in China, and we didn’t show our true potential. With such a closely matched midfield, it’s very difficult to recover if you lose so much ground at the start of a race. 

“On the positive side we’ve shown good progress with our car performance since Melbourne. We have made Q3 in the last two races and we understand the car more. It’s time for our luck to turn and the results to follow.”

Sergio Perez’s Bahrain GP was hampered after he was pitched into a spin by Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley on the opening lap, while a first-lap incident cost both drivers position in China after the Mexican had made Q3 for the first time this season. 

“The first few races haven’t gone very smoothly for me,” Perez explained. “I think I’ve been unlucky, especially in Bahrain, but I know it sometimes happens in racing. The last race in China was really disappointing because I lost out on lap one and there was no way to recover to the points.”

But Perez is confident Force India has turned a corner since the season-opener in Melbourne and believes his team can turnaround its fortunes as the year progresses. 

“Our pace was competitive and we took another step forward with the car performance, but things just didn’t work out on race day. The progress we have made since Melbourne was visible in Shanghai and I’m feeling happier with the balance of the car now. We are catching up and getting back to our normal position.”

Baku was the scene of an intra-team collision between drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon which cost Force India a potential double podium - and possibly a win - during a hectic race last year. 

“So much happened in the race [last year] and it was definitely a missed opportunity for us,” Ocon added. "Baku is definitely a great chance for us to score points. The car is improving with each race and I can see how hard everybody is working to find more performance. 

“At every race this year we’ve had new items to test and it’s the same this weekend. It’s still early days in the season and if we can unlock the potential in the car I think we can be up there fighting consistently at the front of the midfield.”