Force India desperate not to bring up the rear

Team principal Colin Kolles, however, is banking on the outfit’s local knowledge of the Silverstone track and new aero and mechanical package for an improved finish on Sunday in front of the team’s home crowd.

“We have a lot of information about the track from being on its doorstep, so it does feel very familiar, but we don’t approach it any differently to any other event on the calendar. We ultimately have the same aims we always have,” Kolles said.

“The French Grand Prix clearly showed the steps forward we have made in reliability, with our first two car finish since the Bahrain Grand Prix, but now we need to be able to race competitively and finish ahead of people,” he said.

“From a performance point of view, we have a significant new aero and mechanical upgrade package we will use at Silverstone for the first time that I expect to move us closer to the field,” he added.

Chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne said he did not expect the team to do any miracle and he had no reasons to feel let down.

“At the mid point of the season I think we are fairly much where we expected to be. We are competitive in race conditions and are able to fight with the group in front. We’ve also had some good showings, with Monaco as a particular high point with Adrian.”

“We have also tried to sustain a cycle of development to improve performance throughout the season and have moved forward compared to where we were last year, but unfortunately Formula One is so competitive this year that we’ve not been able to show this progress in our results,” he said.

Like Kolles, Gascoyne too was optimistic that the new updates would bring in significant change in Sunday’s race.

“After a productive test at Silverstone, we’re looking forward to the British Grand Prix this week. We tested our new aero and mechanical configuration over the three days and received very positive feedback from all three drivers.

“There was more grip and downforce in general over one lap, and all reported an increased stability under braking,” he said.