That Sergio Perez and Force India should finish on the podium at the Russian Grand Prix is little short of a miracle.
– Sochi: Hamilton wins Russian Grand Prix
– F1: Mercedes upped their game again in Russia
– Russian Grand Prix: Circuit guide infographic
Admittedly, the team was helped by a massive slice of fortune, or misfortune depending on your view, courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen ploughing into the back of Valtteri Bottas late on in the race in Sochi. But that Perez was even in contention is quite remarkable if the clock is turned back to the end of winter testing in March when Force India were effectively in disarray.
Sure, the car looked reliable enough from the off but the VJM08 was so late to be delivered that the team effectively had just two full days of testing to tackle the marathon 19-race season.
That both cars finished in the points at the season opener in Australia was astonishing but then Melbourne has always been an anomaly compared to the rest of the season.
Fantastic podium finish from Checo Perez at Sochi. Valuable 15 points to consolidate 5th position in the constructors championship
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) October 11, 2015
In the opening eight races of the season, the team’s average finish was just about 10th so the feeling was that they could just sneak into the points on a good day.
Since the British GP when they wheeled out their B-spec car from their headquarters situated virtually opposite Silverstone, the average finish for Perez and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg has been seventh.
That has included three retirements between them in the ensuing seven races – three times that of the previous eight grands prix – but that is to be expected with such a major overhaul of a Formula 1 car.
And understandably, the mood is a happy one going into what is one of their biggest weekends in two races time with the Mexican Grand Prix, Perez’s home race and perhaps more importantly the home race of one of their big backers, the billionaire Carlos Slim.
When team principal Bob Fernley suggested a podium was realistic at the sole Central American race on the calendar their rivals in the pit lane scoffed. Was it merely positive talk to either impress or allay the fears of their sponsors as has been the custom with co-owner Vijay Mallya, who has been prone to laud ambitious targets only for his team to fall well short? No one is scoffing now.
In past seasons, Force India have struggled to keep the momentum without the budgets of their rivals to push in-season development to any great degree.
This season is different, although not in a budgetary sense, and Force India appear to be on an upward spiral greater than any team bar perhaps McLaren but it has to be said that the latter had such a poor starting point to begin with.
Right now, they are cementing their place in fifth place in the constructors’ championship, an impressive achievement for a team with the eighth-highest budget this season.
Only Sauber and Manor on the grid have less to spend. Their spend of £96 million (Dh540m) may seem a massive amount of money but it is dwarfed by the teams around them and it’s worth noting the trio of Lotus, Toro Rosso and McLaren all have more cash to spend and yet are currently behind them in the championship standings.
In some ways, it goes back to the Jordan days – Force India is basically Jordan a few generations hence, in the same building where Eddie Jordan first formed his team and with some of the same workforce from those heady days. And the ethos of the team has always been to make the pounds stretch that much further through any innovation imaginable.
One area where they have opted not to scrimp is in their driver budgets paying both men £3m (Dh16.8m) each although it’s worth pointing out that Perez does bring a substantial amount of sponsorship with him for that spend.
Cash flow has clearly been a problem for the team, the Indian businessman Mallya juggling a number of different businesses with varied levels of success, and it was for that reason that this year’s car was so heavily delayed.
Fernando & @SChecoPerez swap helmets. Checo’s helmet will be on display at #Circuito_MuseoFernandoalonso. #F1Family pic.twitter.com/Q560cSWOUE
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 11, 2015
The remarkable thing is that the team genuinely believe it has better steps to make this season, with Mexico set to be the point where the car reaches its peak, and there is confidence – with a evolutionary nature to next year’s car – that the upward spiral can continue unabated.
And what of Perez? He was heavily criticised during his time at McLaren and accused of dangerous driving on occasions, with McLaren hardly helping that reputation by offloading him after a solitary season. But he has slowly but surely erased any tarnishing of his reputation with a number of assured drives.
Admittedly, Hulkenberg has had the greater misfortune this season – he spun at turn one in Sochi, was collected by other cars and out of the race – but Perez is now 16 points clear in the standings of a driver that Ferrari had nearly deemed good enough to drive for them.
Can the podiums continue? Against the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, it’s a tough ask but Force India are thriving punching above their weight.
