The season-opener in Bahrain has enthused Force India owner Vijay Mallya who is particularly happy with the pace of the car and performance of Italian driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Force India began its 2010 campaign with Liuzzi finishing ninth to earn two crucial points.
Teammate Adrian Sutil, who had made it to the third qualifying session (Q3), finished 12th largely because of an opening lap tangle with Robert Kubica but went on to clock the second fastest lap of the race, thus underlining the potential of VJM03.
“I’m obviously very pleased, despite what happened to Adrian at the start. For this team, given our history and background, to score points in the first race is quite a remarkable effort,” Mallya said.
“I think even more so two things have made a very significant impression on me. First is our race pace. I think that’s a huge statement for a relatively small team like us.
The second is there’s been so much talk about Tonio. He’s not just proved himself, but I think he drove beautifully,” Mallya, also the team principal, explained.
“He preserved his tyres well, he was quick, and he brought the car home in the points. So all credit goes to Tonio,” he said.
Asserting that the target was not to remain hot on the heels of traditional giants McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, Mallya said Sutil’s Q3 feat bolsters his belief.
“With the big four around, for me to say that we will run ahead of them sounds ambitious. But to be knocking on their doors and ahead of the rest is something I can be very pleased about,” Mallya said.
Overall, the liquor and aviation baron felt his team has made all the right noise in the season opener and there was every reason to look forward to this year’s championship.
“In 2009 I said we should score some points occasionally, and we scored 13, which was respectable. This year I said we should score points regularly. We have opened our account in the first race and I think the opportunity is wide open for us to now score points regularly.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we could target the odd podium or two. And next year we should hopefully strongly target podium finishes,” Mallya added.
