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Four years, and finally its a second ever podium for Force India. It has been a long wait for a team which has consistently been fighting in midfield since 2011, and not trailed off every alternate year like the Sauber, Torro Rosso, Williams, and now Lotus.
With possibly the most talented driver line-up in their history in Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, Force India fans witnessed a wheel-to-wheel racing battle for the podium place, for the first time in the history of the team. Both drivers are immensely talented, have sheer pace and have staked their claims for places in the bigger teams, as seen by Perez’s rather unfortunate year with McLaren.
So was it a surprise that the Force Indias were the second best team in Bahrain, and finished with 25 points? I think not.
Flashback to last year, in the same Grand Prix, where Paul di Resta raced in favourable conditions to finish 4th, missing out on his first podium in the closing stages. There would have probably been a great chance for the Silverstone-based outfit to consistently finish in the top 6, had there not been the tyre issues that affected the other teams, in the British GP.
It was well known that the Force Indias would be in contention for a top 5 finish on specific tracks, owing to a much smaller budget than the other midfield teams around them. Some of those tracks include Bahrain, Monaco, Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Brazil. It is in these places, that the team brings in upgrades that can significantly improve their performance, knowing that there is nothing to lose.
A magnificent 3rd place finish courtesy Sergio Perez has lead to belief that this could finally be Force India’s most productive season
So finally, what should the Vijay Mallya-headed outfit’s realistic target be this year? Before the season started in Australia, Hulkenberg said that there could be a new pecking order this year due to the drastic changes in regulations – we’ve already seen the Red Bulls and Mercedes swap positions from last year – and also claimed that it would be a great and rare chance to topple one of the big boys from the last decade. Certainly, in the last 2 races, the VJM07s have been quicker than the McLarens and Williams, and recently gone ahead of the Ferraris. What remains to be seen is whether they can stay ahead of the ever-improving Red Bulls.
