Fernley: We aren’t punching above our weight

On course to claim fourth on the Constructors’ Championship table, Force India’s deputy team principal Bob Fernley has claimed that they aren’t overachieving in 2016.

With one point separating them from fifth place Williams, the Silverstone-based outfit are having a remarkable season, with Sergio Perez claiming two podiums in Monaco and Baku. If they manage to keep their fourth place on the Championship table it will be their highest ever finish.

When quizzed about whether they are having a miracle season by Gpupdate.net during an exclusive chat, Fernley said they are exactly where they belong.

“No, I don’t think we are actually, and I don’t think we’re punching above our weight,” he answered.

“I think we’ve consistently shown over the years a progression in terms of performance, and that’s not by accident. It’s about investment and clearly the people – our team is very dedicated and very talented.

“You don’t need to be throwing money at it to have results, and that’s clearly proven. On the other hand, you still need to have a sizeable budget to be able to maintain that development process. I think as a whole Formula 1 overspends anyway, and we don’t need to spend the amount of money, even what we’re spending, to put on a good show.”

With their limited resources in mind, Fernley added it would an amazing feeling to claim fourth on the Championship, especially finishing above more prominent teams.

“For us it would be like winning the series,” he said.

“If you look at our budget, and you look at the budgets of the three teams in front of us, we’re a minimum of 200 million a year difference. Can we compete with those teams on our budget? Probably not.”