Force India seek middle path

There was a fair crowd gathered around the Force India pit, staring at the red, white and gold cars. They don8217;t look quite as intimidating from up-close, especially with the nose and rear wings stripped off.

Both the cockpits are adorned with pictures of Lord Balaji 8212; they do look slightly out of place there, but as owner Vijay Mallya says, 8220;I don8217;t embark on any project without first visiting Tirupathi.8221;

What really seemed to have made a difference though, were a few aerodynamic parts that came in after the Barcelona tests, most notable being a slick new set of rear-view mirrors that have, as chief technical director Mike Gascoyne said, given them two-tenths of a second.

Q2 hopes

8220;We had a few mechanical problems with Tonio8217;s test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi car in the first session, but overall, it was an exceptional first day out,8221; Gascoyne said. 8220;After today8217;s performance, I8217;d be very disappointed if we didn8217;t make it to Q2 tomorrow,8221; he added. 8220;It was a good challenge today and things look quite promising,8221; Fisichella said. 8220;We made a big step forward over the winter. We know we still have a lot of work to do, but it8217;s a good start.8221;

However, it isn8217;t time to go gaga just yet. As both Mallya and Team Principal Colin Kolles pointed out, qualifying is going to be a very different ball game. 8220;You can never tell from free practice, generally no one shows all their cards on Fridays, especially on the first weekend of the season. I8217;m sure we can go a bit faster than we did today, but I think a lot of other teams will also go quicker,8221; Kolles said.

And while ninth place looks good, they are still about two to three seconds slower than pace-setters Ferrari and McLaren.

What they do have going for them is the buzz that8217;s going around. Mallya has targeted the 2010 season for a podium finish, but Gascoyne feels he might be able to turn it on quicker than that. 8220;Before I joined Spyker, the longest I took to put a team on the podium was the Toyota in 1999 8212; I think that took 19 races. I think Mr Mallya will get his wish a little sooner than he wants.8221;

No one will be complaining if that does happen. It8217;s better not to get your hopes too high though.