Mallya: Force India must raise game soon

Team principal Vijay Mallya has called on Force India to act quickly to ensure they are not left behind in this season's championship fight. Mallya believes his team must improve as soon as possible if they are to keep up with their traditional midfield rivals Sauber and Williams.

"Formula One is hard to predict at the moment," said Mallya. "It's seriously competitive with seven different winners in seven races, all of which is great for the sport. But while it's hard to predict, we still need to lift our game, especially if we want to target fifth or sixth in the constructors' championship. Yes, we've had one of our best starts to a season ever in terms of points scored, but the teams around us have also performed exceptionally well."

Although the VJM05 has shown plenty of promise and the team have clinched more than twice the number of points they had scored at this stage last year, drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are yet to finish a race higher than sixth.

Sauber, meanwhile, have taken two podiums in Malaysia and Canada, whilst Williams claimed victory in Spain. And the achievements of their midfield rivals have left Force India down in eighth in the constructors' table, 30 points adrift of sixth-placed Sauber and 16 behind Williams in seventh.

"The teams that we have been comparable with in the past few years have been on the podium, and I'm sure our time will come, as long as we get things right," added Mallya. "It's something we need to do sooner rather than later because we are quickly approaching the midway point of the season. I hope we can recapture our form in Valencia, return to the points and demonstrate our potential."

Force India will be back on track - alongside their rivals - at this weekend's 2012 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe, which will take place in the Spanish city of Valencia from June 22-24.