Perez wants Force India to step up

Sergio Perez insists that Force India need to improve ahead of the first race in Melbourne in less than three weeks time.

Today in pre-season the Force India car finished in 10th place finishing ahead of Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson and the struggling McLaren.

A concerned Perez said: "I think we definitely need a good step for the first race and hopefully that will come and we can be competitive from then onwards.

"I think what we are experiencing these days is probably irrelevant because once we go to race weekends track temperatures are going to be quite different to what we’ve had so far.

“Right now it’s hard to judge where we are, but certainly I don’t think we are leading the mid-pack at the moment, but I certainly always say it doesn’t matter where we start, it’s where you are in Abu Dhabi.”

Force India finished fourth in the constructers championship last season but have been down on this during testing. However, Force India have apparently chosen to simplify the car in testing and will bring in an upgrade in Australia.

“We will see in Melbourne where we are, once we bring our package, but I’m very hopeful of what we are going to have for Melbourne. It’s too early to be disappointed or happy. We have to keep our heads down and work.”

Force India managed to complete only part of their programme at testing today due to an issue with the floor of the car. They managed to fix the issue and are expecting a full day of testing tomorrow.