Force India boss Vijay Mallya confident of progress in 2012

Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg will drive for Force India this season, with Ferrari protege Jules Bianchi as reserve. The team finished sixth in last year's standings.

"Our testing form has looked competitive, but it's only when we get to the first race that we really get a feel for the pecking order and how well everyone has done over the winter," said Mallya.

"From our side there is no doubt that Andrew Green and his technical team have done an outstanding job to deliver a well-balanced car. I would even go as far as saying the VJM05 is the best engineered car we have produced and the detail of the design is beautiful. It's a car we believe can help us take another step forward."

Mallya expects fireworks between rising star drivers di Resta and Hulkenberg this year, and reckons that will spur the team on.

"Driver-wise I'm extremely excited by our line-up this year," he said. "Nico and Paul are both young and hungry, and will ensure we squeeze every last thousandth from the car.

"There will be some healthy in-house rivalry, too, which will be fascinating to watch, and I believe that we will get better results in the long run by having two drivers pushing each other on."