F1 | Force India, Mallya sets the objectives: "Confirm fourth position and get closer to the top teams"

As reiterated several times during the winter, the Force India in 2018 it will try to confirm the fourth position in the constructors' championship obtained in the last two years. However, the predictable relaunch of Renault and, above all, McLaren will make the mission much more difficult than usual: the boss of the Indian team, Vijay Mallya, interviewed by Firstpost, said he was aware of the economic and technical gap present with the top teams: “At the moment there is a huge gap that we have to close with the top three teams, but I'm still proud to be the best of the rest of the group. We are racing against huge car manufacturers and have to be realistic about what we can achieve with our resources, so I am satisfied and proud of the work we are doing: but I am looking for even better results and podiums. The goal for the future is to maintain our position and start to closing the gap with the teams ahead of us".

Mallya then embraced Liberty Media's controversial line, aimed at fairer competition: “It's no secret that we lack the financial muscle of Mercedes and Ferrari: these privileged manufacturer teams also benefit from advantageous cash deals, which further widen the gap compared to independent teams. It's something that we have always believed has an impact on the health and competitiveness of this sport: a fairer sharing of the prize money it would allow other teams, including Force India, to compete on a more equal footing. Until this situation is addressed, it is unlikely that we will see independent teams fighting for wins every week.".

Federico Martino