Valencia: After a disappointing show at the Canadian Grand Prix, Force India on Tuesday vowed to bounce back in Valencia leg of the Formula One this weekend and collect some points.
Paul Di Resta ended 18th, while Adrian Sutil failed to even finish in Montreal but chairman and team principal Vijay Mallya said his team would take the disappointment on the chin and move forward.
"It was a weekend of unrealised potential for Force India (in Canada). The luck did not go our way and both drivers were a little over-enthusiastic. This is all part of racing and we will take the disappointment on the chin and come back stronger next time," Mallya said.
"It was all the more frustrating because the VJM04 was extremely competitive. We had a good strategy and we missed a chance to pick up some big points," he added.
Mallya is hoping that some technological upgrades in the VJM04 car could give his team points in Valencia.
"After the low downforce challenge of Montreal, it's back to high downforce in Valencia. We continue to push hard with the development of the car, mainly on the aero side with several small detailed additions this weekend," he said.
Lead driver Adrian Sutil admitted that Valencia was not one of his favourite tracks but still hoping to come up with a strong show at the venue where he had finish sixth last year.
"To be honest, the track is not one of my favourites. The lap is made up mainly of straights and hairpins, so it's not the most challenging place to go racing. Although the walls are close, it doesn't really feel like a street circuit and it's nowhere close to racing in Monaco.
"I have good memories in Valencia, especially from last year's race. Although we struggled in qualifying, I got lucky in the race with the safety car and made up quite a few positions to finish sixth. It would be great to have another result like that to make up for the disappointment we had in Canada," said Sutil.
Paul Di Resta said he is looking for a top 10 finish in the qualifying.
"In terms of my objectives, I think I'd be fairly happy if we can be pushing to make the top ten in qualifying and racing for points. We saw in Canada that this is a realistic goal and I think the layout of the track should play to the strengths of our car. Hopefully, we will have some new parts coming as well so that we can focus on taking another step forward.
"Because of the long straights, I think Valencia is another track where we will see a big advantage with the DRS.
That should make some good opportunities for overtaking. Tyre wear will also be a crucial factor for the weekend because it's another street track and it's difficult to predict how the tyres will perform," he said.
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