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F1 Hungarian GP: Perez appreciates Force India balancing act

Sergio Perez says he accepts the difficult decision Force India has when deciding to shift development focus for next season due to its modest budget compared to the manufacturers, which he says could ultimately hamper the team towards the end of this season or at the beginning of 2017.

The Mexican driver has enjoyed an impressive upturn in form for Force India having claimed two rostrum results at Monaco and Baku supplemented by a positive sixth place at Silverstone.

His points haul has boosted the British squad's charge towards Williams for fourth in the F1 world constructors' championship.

However, with Force India's revenue dwarfed by the manufacturers in F1 as well as Williams, which receives 'heritage' payments from the Formula One Group, Perez is aware the team has to take considerable steps to switch its attention to next year which could potentially hurt its progress either at the end of the current season or the start of the new campaign with the regulation changes.

"We are a medium-sized, midfield team that is tight on budget," Perez said. "There is a point where we need to make that decision and if we want to be competitive next year it's important that we shift our focus for next year.

"Obviously as a driver you always want to develop the car and get more upgrades race by race, but there is always a point where that is not possible."

After grabbing a double points finish at Silverstone Force India has closed up to 19 points behind Williams in the battle for fourth in the F1 constructors' championship.

Zdroj: crash.net