Force India should be in Q2: Mallya

Making all the right noises could not gloss over Force India’s point jinx in the first half of the season and team principal Vijay Mallya wants his drivers to feature regularly in the second qualifying sessions (Q2) to grab the elusive maiden points.

Aware that qualifying high up is a must if Force India is to break its point duck, Mallya said updates are being lined up and all that the drivers need to ensure is that they don’t start at the back of the grid.

“We should definitely be in Q2, maybe even the top of Q2 in Valencia and beyond. I’m quite optimistic as we’re also working on more upgrades for the final races of the season,” Mallya said as the second half of the 2009 season starts on Sunday with the European Grand Prix in Spain.

“There’s more to come for Singapore as well in the latter part of the year so if we continue on our trajectory,  we’re looking quite good and on target with the goals we set at the start of the year.”

Force India have the same Mercedes engines as championship leaders Brawn GP and McLaren, winners in Hungary last month with world champion Lewis Hamilton, but have struggled to get close to the points.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished ninth in Monaco while Germany’s Adrian Sutil qualified seventh for last month’s German Grand Prix and ran as high as second before colliding with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. “Every upgrade we’ve introduced so far this year has really made a difference so I have a lot of confidence that this will take  us forward as well,” said Sutil. “The car is getting better and better to drive and with another upgrade I hope we will really be in the midfield now and in the hunt for points.”