I think fifth is still realistic - Mallya

F1 Grand Prix, GP China, Shanghai International Ciruit

The Chinese GPwill be the fourth round of the 2010 F1 Championship and the final event in the quartet of flyaway races that opened the season. Held at the state of the art Shanghai International Circuit, the Force India Formula One Team will be heading to this event with high hopes of keeping its recent run of form going after scoring points in the first three races of the year.

Interview with Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal:
Dr Mallya, the team is currently sixth in the constructors' championship and has 18 points from three races. You must be pleased with this progress so far? "At the start of the season I said we wanted to be regular points finishers and here we are, three races in, with three points' finishes. It's very pleasing when you see just how far we've come in one year: after three races in 2009 we had nul points and were tenth. The difference, I believe, has been keeping the focus on what we want to do. We've kept our heads down, got on with the job and to a certain extent kept out of what the other teams are doing - we've focussed on our own game. It's a real credit to Mark Smith and his team that we've got the points we have. The team at Brackley and Silverstone are tight-knit, efficient and the results are now coming through."

You've made a lot about wanting fifth in the championship. Three races in, do you still think this is possible? "The grid is very tight as we saw in Malaysia and Australia and there's no clear delineation between the front and the midfield. The most important at this stage is that we are still up there fighting. Renault look very strong right now but there's still a lot more races to go this year and we have a clear direction about where we are going that will keep us with them, or hopefully leapfrog them. The drivers are confident and the team is working well so I think fifth is still realistic."