FEBRUARY 14, 2019

Perez eyes maybe even a win in 2019

The team formerly known as Force India is targeting fourth place in the championship this year.

The team formerly known as Force India is targeting fourth place in the championship this year.

Although a highly competitive midfield runner, the Silverstone based team ran into financial problems last year and was taken over by billionaire Lawrence Stroll.

And so for 2019, those money problems are over.

"Anything less than fourth would be a huge disappointment to me. We've worked hard to put the difficult times behind us," said boss Otmar Szafnauer.

However, there has been early criticism of the new name -- Racing Point. Alternatives including Lola and Brabham were investigated, but deals ultimately not done.

"We considered the name for a while and came to the conclusion that Racing Point was actually very suitable for us," Szafnauer insisted.

But the big news for technical boss Andy Green is that his department now has more money to spend.

"Finally we can make our good ideas into reality," he said, whilst admitting that the newly-launched 2019 car features many parts from the 2018 machine.

"In the past, we did a good job with the resources we had," added Green, "but fourth place must be our goal now. We want to reduce the gap to the top teams."

Team owner Stroll's son Lance has joined from Williams, and Sergio Perez has stayed.

"In addition to fourth place, I also hope for some podiums this season," said Mexican Perez. "Maybe even the first victory."

(GMM)