Mallya sure of making steady progress

Vijay Mallya

Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya says he is under no illusions about how difficult it will be to improve the team’s competitiveness – but is confident it now has everything in place to make “steady progress".

The billionaire officially launched his and India’s first Formula 1 venture in Mumbai on Thursday, with the new owner looking to recapture the Silverstone-based squad’s glory days during its Jordan guise in the 1990s.

Mallya believes he can make a success of the outfit once again, although he admits he recognizes how difficult the task will be.

“We inherited a team whose performance was not that great and I am the first one to acknowledge it," he said at the launch.

“I will also acknowledge that this is a huge challenging task of performance improvement and becoming competitive.

“[F1 is] The only sport that I know of where even a fraction of a second is the difference between winning, losing or position.

“It is exhilarating, challenging and also satisfying to be part of a movement where competition is truly at its pinnacle."