Force India targeting Williams and fourth in F1 constructors' ranks

Vijay Mallya is confident Force India can make team history and secure fourth place in the Formula 1 constructors' championship despite halting all development on its 2016 car

Force India claimed fifth for the first time last year, but Mallya has his sights set on overhauling a struggling Williams for fourth.

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Following a solid start to the season from Williams and a poor one for Force India, it was 51 points behind after five races.

Williams failed to score a point in a race for the first time this season at the British Grand Prix, while Force India collected 14 after Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh, closing the gap to 19 points.

"I'm a very happy man," team principal Mallya told Autosport.

"I've said our objective for the team is to secure fourth in the championship, and we scored 14 points on Williams, so we are now only 19 behind them with 11 more races to go.

"We haven't quite optimised our update yet, so I have every reason to smile."

That update was introduced at the Spanish GP and included a new front wing, floor and associated bodywork, including sidepods.

"There are some bits and pieces of the update that are yet to come to the car, which are under manufacture," Mallya added.

"Plus we need to optimise the set-up to get the most out of the updates.

"Silverstone has high-speed corners, but I believe where this update is going to be more relevant is on those tracks that have a mix of both slow and high-speed corners.

"We've never been at our very best in slow-speed corners, so generally I'm feeling good and optimistic."

Mallya has confirmed, though, that all focus is now on Force India's 2017 car, as he is refusing to gamble on the team's chances when the regulations change considerably

"If I said we wanted to continue development during 2016 just to beat Williams then I might compromise myself in 2017," said Mallya.

"2017 is a big opportunity for us to be really competitive, and I don't want to lose that opportunity.

"So we need to focus on 2017 and produce a really good car, and 100% of our resources are on '17. There will be no more development on this year's car.

"This is the one that will see us through to the end of the season, barring the final pieces of the update that I mentioned are in manufacture.

"That's not too bad given how we performed [at Silverstone]."