Unlikely F1 points in Australian GP a morale boost

The team's 2015 car did not hit the track until the final three days of pre-season testing, and in the build-up to the race driver Sergio Perez admitted he was anticipating a "painful" start to the season.

But deputy team principal Bob Fernley believes that Nico Hulkenberg's seventh place, backed up by Sergio Perez's 10th, is a bonus - having admitted post-race that it was "unlikely" that Force India could have scored points on pure pace.

"The team have come out after a tough winter and being late into testing but we have had a car that has been incredibly reliable from the minute it was launched," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.

"That gave us the benefit in the race. And we had a good strategy to make the best of what we had.

"The team should be pleased and it's positive to go back to the factory with some points under our belt because it lifts the morale."

The team's focus on reliability, which was key to its double points finish given that its car was the slowest of the midfield group.

Fernley is hopeful that this will allow it to continue to pick up some points in the early races while it awaits car upgrades to boost performance.

"That has to be the policy," said Fernley when asked if the team can continue to score points based on reliability early on.

"The consistency of the team has brought us through and if we can get ourselves picking the points where it's possible until we can get the upgrade through, at that point hopefully we can be in the points on merit rather than opportunity.

"We were expecting a few incidents and casualties in the race, probably not quite as many as there were, but you have to be there to take the opportunity and the team did a good job."