Glock pins hopes on Silverstone upgrade

After a difficult opening part to the campaign, dogged by reliability problems and dramas surrounding the team's fuel tank, Virgin has delivered some more encouraging performances in recent races - but is still some way off the opposition.

Glock himself believes that the development rate needs to be ramped up - with hopes high about the package of upgrades scheduled for the British GP.

"We've made a step in the right direction but we still need more," Glock told AUTOSPORT. "I hope we make a big step in Silverstone, where a new upgrade comes - and we will see what is possible then.

"But we have to develop more the car. The car is far too heavy, and mechanically and aerodynamically we are just not where we should be.

"For sure the first three months of the year cost us a lot of development time with all the updates we had. The updates are now coming, but they are little steps and we need more. That is where we have to improve.

"Mechanically the car is really, really bad over bumps and we have to improve. We don't have the spec like the others, or what I had at Toyota, and that would bring us a good step in the right direction."

When asked what timeframe he believed it would take for Virgin to score a point on pure merit, Glock said: "In a real race, we are far away. At the moment, if we get a magic upgrade for Silverstone which we need then maybe, but realistically not."

Glock said one of the positives of Virgin Racing is the Cosworth engine - which he says he has been impressed with.

"I have to say I was quite surprised by the Cosworth engine," he said. "In terms of power it is pretty good, and I am quite happy with it."