Force India look for good show at home

Not much is going right for Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya. Some points for his team at his home GP could, however, put him in a better state of mind.

As things stand right now, SFI are seventh on the table with 89 points from sixteen races with Nico Hulkenberg scoring 45 points and Paul di Resta scoring the other 44.

The team are under tremendous pressure following their impressive climb up the ranks last season where they finished sixth on the constructors’ standing. Even though they have put on a better show in terms of points, they have been outdone by Sauber, who are currently sixth with 116 points.

With four races to go, their focus will remain on finishing sixth but for that they will have to put on a good show at the BIC and the three races to follow. They scored two points at the Indian Grand Prix last season after former SFI driver Adrian Sutil finished ninth.

A European GP-kind of performance this season, where they scored 16 points, would most certainly work in their favour and put some pressure on Sauber. For all this to materialise, SFI will need to do well in the free practice session and hope they qualify in decent positions on the grid here.

The other Indian angle will be Narain Karth­ike­yan and his improved Hispania Racing Team. The HRT’s have not been the best cars on the grid. That said, they have done better than last year.

Karthikeyan will once again feel the pressure of performing in front of his home crowd. Even though he won’t be expected to put on a point-scoring show, one can hope him to put his familiarity to use and come up with a decent show in the absence of Karun Chandhok, who is presently in Shanghai driving in the World Endurance Championship.