Sergio Perez believes Force India has lost ground on its midfield rivals, but is confident the team can find improvements before the Australian Grand Prix.
Force India opted to run an updated version of its 2017 car during preseason testing to allow the aerodynamics team more time to develop the package.
The decision has left the squad on the backfoot and Perez believes the Melbourne update will need to be a “good step” to put the team back at the top of the midfield.
“We definitely need a good step for the first race and hopefully that will come and we can be competitive from then onwards,”he said.
“What we are experiencing these days is probably irrelevant because once we go to race weekends track temperatures are going to be quite different to what we’ve had so far.
“Right now, it’s hard to judge where we are but certainly I don’t think we are leading the mid-pack at the moment, but I certainly always say it doesn’t matter where we start, it’s where you are in Abu Dhabi.
“We will see in Melbourne where we are, once we bring our package, but I’m very hopeful of what we are going to have for Melbourne.
“It’s too early to be disappointed or happy. We have to keep our heads down and working.”
Force India has neither lit up the timing screens nor the lap charts. The team managed just 166 laps in the first preseason test, and Perez admitted he’d only completed part of his test programme, but he’s pleased with what has been achieved so far.
“We managed to complete part of the programme and it’s been a very positive day in terms of what we’ve done, what we’ve learned and just gathering data it’s been positive today,” he said after the first day of the second test.
Perez is scheduled for just one more day of testing before the start of the season.
