145;Very close to sorting qualifying problems146;v

Four races into the season, there have been a few positives for the Force India F1 team, but most of them in the practice...

Four races into the season, there have been a few positives for the Force India F1 team, but most of them in the practice sessions in the build-up to the race weekend rather than on the more important Saturdays and Sundays.

Though a top-10 finish in the Spanish Grand Prix would have calmed the nerves somewhat, the team8217;s Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella says his biggest regret so far is not getting out of the first corner in the opening race at Melbourne. He was bumped off right after the start in the season-opener in a race that only seven cars managed to finish.

8220;It was very frustrating, I was very disappointed. I had been very comfortable with the car through the weekend and we could easily have scored points there,8221; Fisichella told The Indian Express over the phone from the team8217;s Silverstone factory.

Other than that, he8217;s not too dissatisfied with the way the season has panned out so far. 8220;It8217;s not been too bad,8221; he said. 8220;Apart from the first race, I8217;ve finished 12th,12th and 10th. Our first top-10 finish in Barcelona this weekend was really satisfying.8221;

The big disappointment has been the team8217;s performance in qualifying. Right from Melbourne, team owner Vijay Mallya and technical director Mike Gascoyne had made it clear that the big target was to break into Q2 8212; the second qualifying segment. But Saturday evenings on the race weekend have invariably seen them in the bottom six.

8220;I don8217;t think anything8217;s going wrong,8221; Fisichella said. 8220;We came close twice, the only really disappointing qualifying was in Spain where we lost a lot of grip.8221;

So how far or close is the Q2 target now? 8220;I think we need to improve the car a little bit, but we8217;re very close. It could be the next race or the middle of the season. By the end of the season, we should consistently be in Q2.8221;

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And then, the obvious question: Why does the car seem to be more competitive in free practice and the test sessions before falling back in the races? All teams run different set-ups in free practice and testing, but Fisichella has consistently been in the top-10 on Fridays. 8220;In testing, we try the car with low fuel levels, mainly to just develop the car and get ready for the qualifying sessions. With similar fuel loads, we are around 16th or 17th. We8217;re improving all the time.8221;

He also says the team is upbeat after their performance in Spain. 8220;We8217;re doing very well for a team in its first season. And now, after Spain, we8217;re more confident. We8217;re pushing very hard.8221;

On a personal level, he feels vindicated already after a disappointing 2007 when he was outpaced by rookie team mate Heikki Kovalainen. 8220;It was difficult 8212; the car wasn8217;t quick enough. I8217;m doing my best and I8217;ve shown my pace. That8217;s all I can do right now.8221;