Reliability of new Force India F1 car surprises Nico Hulkenberg

The VJM08 only hit the track halfway through the second day of the final pre-season test, but Hulkenberg managed more than 200 laps in just a day and a half of running.

When asked if the team expected the car to run so reliably from the off, Hulkenberg said: "No, I think that's a surprise, even to me.

"It's very good that we brought it here and pretty much just shook it out like this.

"It's a surprise to me and the team - to everybody, and obviously it's what we needed."

Hulkenberg admitted that the late debut will inevitably hold the team back in some areas, but he feels it has made a very strong start.

"First impressions are good - yesterday 80 laps straight out of the box and now two and-a-half race distances today," he said.

"No hiccups, no issues - that's very positive. And we were able to do some good and proper work already.

"It's similar to last year's car so straight away we found a good base we can work from.

"I think we've achieved a lot today, and everybody is as happy as you can be."

McLAREN WILL BOUNCE BACK

Force India spent most of 2014 locked in battle with McLaren in the constructors' championship, and Hulkenberg said it would be naive for the team to expect to finish ahead of the Honda-powered team simply because it has struggled so far in testing.

"I don't know where McLaren stand," he said. "Obviously they've had quite a troubled testing period.

"But I also know that a Formula 1 season is very long and a lot can happen in those eight or nine months, so I wouldn't write them off.

"We're not thinking about them at the moment - we're just thinking about ourselves and working on our car."