Q2 should be a norm,we are not one-hit wonder: Mallya

Despite missing the team’s maiden Formula One points,it was a brilliant show by both the Force India drivers and Mallya said the team has improved a lot since the start of the season and it’s finally showing.

“I am confident that Germany was not just a one-hit wonder for us. We always said the first few races would be compromised by the late signing of the McLaren and Mercedes deal but since then we’ve been introducing new upgrades and each one has been a step forward,” Mallya said.

“We had hoped that this progress would be reflected in Silverstone,but due to events on track,we couldn’t show the full potential. In Germany this is what you saw. Over the course of season we’ve calculated we’ve improved by something like 1.7seconds,which I don’t think any other team has done.

“It’s been done by hard work and not just getting lucky,” Mallya said ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian GP at the tight,twisty Hungaroring on the outskirts of Budapest,” Mallya said.

“I genuinely think that we are Q2 contenders for the rest of the season,and with Hungary being a circuit where qualifying is so crucial,we’re in with a shot of a good finish. We’re so close to points we can almost touch them. It has to be soon,” said Mallya,also the team principal.

Asked how disappointed he was after Sutil’s clash with Raikkonen,Mallya said,“In that split second when Kimi and Adrian came together of course the whole team was disappointed and of course those memories of Monaco 2008 came forward. All the same I don’t think we can be downhearted about the weekend performance and dwell too much on that point.

“We qualified in the top ten,we raced in the top five and we went some way to shirking off this reputation of being the back-markers who only get seen while being lapped.”