Force India Confident Points are Possible

Despite a difficult testing and average Australian Grand Prix, Force India believe points are there for the taking.

Despite missing out on any points at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez remains confident that points will be on offer for the team in pink this season. Both Perez and Estaban Ocon missed out on the top 10 in qualifying and couldn't improve into the points positions during the race.

11th and 12th positions in the race for Perez and Ocon respectively might have been seen as a positive after a disappointing winter testing but Perez believes he could have been in the points on another day.

“It was quite an unlucky weekend for us, but there are still positives to take from this race,” he said. “We came close to bringing home a point although it was just out of reach.

“I was pushing throughout the whole race and especially chasing Sainz in the final laps. I got really close to him, but it wasn’t enough. Overtaking in Melbourne is very difficult – you could see the same with Bottas who couldn’t pass me during the first stint.

“The Virtual Safety Car also didn’t help us at all, but that’s just how things go sometimes. I am still happy with my performance and the job we did as a team. We will need to move on and keep improving, but I believe we will soon be in a position to battle for points.

“Hopefully our improvements will come as early as Bahrain, it’s a race where you can overtake and strategy plays a bigger part compared to Melbourne.”

Last season Force India scored points at both of the opening rounds in the 2017 championship and will be hoping for a return to the points in Bahrain, team boss Bob Fernley believes the team can take some positives from Melbourne and will have "plenty of opportunities" to show what they can do.