Force India aims to overtake Williams at British GP

July 03, 2012 08:08 pm | Updated 08:09 pm IST - Silverstone

Sahara Force India are aiming to get past Williams and grab the seventh place in Constructors’ standings as they approach their home race British Grand Prix, here on Sunday.

After logging 16 points with their strongest finish of the season at the Valencia Grand Prix, Force India moved to 44 points, one less than Williams.

“We are catching up with our nearest competitors quite quickly. Now we need to keep up the momentum. We will have some developments for the car this weekend and we will certainly give our all to try and come away with another strong result,” Team Principal Vijay Mallya said.

“The aim this weekend is to deliver a repeat performance, pick up points and keep pushing hard to move up the championship table,” Mallya added.

For Paul di Resta, it will be a race on home soil and the Scot is looking forward to a “strong show” with full crowd support.

“For me, it’s the biggest event we go to, especially in terms of support from the British fans, which is always amazing. The atmosphere is electric and I remember last year the Drivers’ Parade was one of the highlights — it really sent a shiver through me because of the reaction we received,” Di Resta said.

Di Resta also said that the track at the Silverstone is more exciting now after addition of some new features.

“It’s the track that makes you really appreciate what a Formula One car is capable of, especially the aerodynamic grip through the quick corners and the change of direction.

“Everybody talks about Maggotts and Becketts, but there really is nothing else like them anywhere in the world. I also enjoy the new section and every year we go back there it gets better and better. The new layout has definitely created some more overtaking opportunities, especially with the introduction of DRS, so it’s been the right move,” he said.

Nico Hulkenberg, who celebrated his best result in Valencia with a fifth place finish, is also confident of repeating the performance.

“I have good memories from Silverstone, both in GP2 and Formula One. It is one of those classic races that bring a smile to your face when you think of some of the corners.

“I actually describe it as an ‘old—school’ circuit because it’s narrow and you have to be really committed and brave through the quick parts of the lap. It’s super—fast and great fun when you hook up the perfect lap,” the German said.

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