| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 29th 2014, 15:41 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas believes the Spanish Grand Prix will be key to the Williams team's hopes of continuing its strong start to the Formula 1 season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 30th 2014, 10:01 GMT |
Formula 1 chiefs have been warned the sport could face a fan exodus if it does not make serious headway in addressing rising costs during a crunch meeting on Thursday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 30th 2014, 11:22 GMT |
Formula 1's leading figures are adamant that a three-year cost cutting plan discussed in the F1 Strategy Group is the best way to sort out the sport's budget problems
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, April 29th 2014, 09:49 GMT |
Fernando Alonso says the Ferrari Formula 1 team's new car has been underperforming in "many areas" in the early part of the 2014 season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 29th 2014, 08:58 GMT |
The McLaren Formula 1 team has dismissed reports that Jenson Button's participation in the Spanish Grand Prix could be in doubt because of a leg injury.
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 29th 2014, 11:10 GMT |
Formula 1 tyre testing using current cars is a "monumental step forward" for Pirelli, according to its director of motorsport Paul Hembery.
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| Sunday, April 27th 2014, 15:25 GMT |
Simona de Silvestro completed her first Formula 1 test on Sunday after a two-day session at the Fiorano circuit in Italy
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, April 28th 2014, 09:37 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1 should do more to ensure cars run on track during practice, instead of sitting in garages to conserve tyres
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 28th 2014, 09:53 GMT |
Lotus owner Gerard Lopez says the team's financial worries have been blown out of proportion, but he has no doubts that its future is secure.
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 25th 2014, 15:14 GMT |
Felipe Massa is driving with more freedom since swapping the Ferrari Formula 1 team for Williams, according to his former race engineer Rob Smedley
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| Saturday, April 26th 2014, 12:17 GMT |
Former grand prix driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes DRS is good for the Formula 1 spectacle, but feels it has devalued the art of overtaking
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Saturday, April 26th 2014, 16:55 GMT |
Simona de Silvestro made her Formula 1 debut on Saturday, testing a Sauber at Ferrari's Fiorano circuit
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 25th 2014, 09:52 GMT |
McLaren says it is fully committed to keeping its radical suspension blockers for the rest of the Formula 1 season, despite testing without them in Bahrain earlier this month.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 25th 2014, 09:14 GMT |
Caterham's reserve driver Alexander Rossi will get his first taste of the team's 2014 Formula 1 car during first practice runs at the Canadian and United States Grands Prix.
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 25th 2014, 15:14 GMT |
Felipe Massa is driving with more freedom since swapping the Ferrari Formula 1 team for Williams, according to his former race engineer Rob Smedley
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 25th 2014, 08:56 GMT |
Martin Brundle has warned that Formula 1 cars could become "like Scalextric cars" and dull to watch if active suspension returns to the sport in 2017
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 25th 2014, 09:14 GMT |
Caterham's reserve driver Alexander Rossi will get his first taste of the team's 2014 Formula 1 car during first practice runs at the Canadian and United States Grands Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 25th 2014, 09:52 GMT |
McLaren says it is fully committed to keeping its radical suspension blockers for the rest of the Formula 1 season, despite testing without them in Bahrain earlier this month.
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| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, April 23rd 2014, 15:33 GMT |
Romain Grosjean says Lotus is now the second best Renault team in Formula 1 after running in the top 10 in the Chinese Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 24th 2014, 09:52 GMT |
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has already begun a restructuring of his Formula 1 team in a bid to get it back to the front of the grid
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 24th 2014, 11:26 GMT |
Formula 1 teams are pushing to make grand prix cars more visually spectacular, AUTOSPORT can reveal, with the return of sparks, glowing brake discs and vapour trails all being considered
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 22nd 2014, 08:56 GMT |
Lotus owner Gerard Lopez reckons that the gains made by Renault have lifted the Formula 1 team's performance by nearly two seconds per lap.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 22nd 2014, 09:06 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel's struggles against his Formula 1 team-mate Daniel Ricciardo are the result of him not getting comfortable enough with the 2014 Red Bull.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 22nd 2014, 11:10 GMT |
McLaren has revealed that its factory has already produced the downforce improvements it needs to move up the Formula 1 grid.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 21st 2014, 08:42 GMT |
McLaren suspects that the form of its 2014 Formula 1 car is being dictated by the weather.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 21st 2014, 10:01 GMT |
Red Bull insists it played no part in aero chief Dan Fallows' decision to return to its Formula 1 team, as its row with McLaren heads for the High Court
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 21st 2014, 10:41 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton says he has never been happier in Formula 1 than he is right now
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| By Matt Beer | Sunday, April 20th 2014, 09:52 GMT |
Jenson Button says McLaren's decline in Formula 1 form is becoming a major concern after the team failed to score in the Chinese Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, April 20th 2014, 11:29 GMT |
A mistake with the chequered flag at the Chinese Grand Prix has resulted in the distance of round four of the 2014 Formula 1 season being shortened
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, April 19th 2014, 11:37 GMT |
Jenson Button says McLaren's Q2 exit at the Chinese Grand Prix can be traced back to a lack of downforce
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| By Ben Anderson | Saturday, April 19th 2014, 11:46 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton reckons he could have gone even faster in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, despite taking the 34th pole position of his Formula 1 career by a massive margin
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, April 19th 2014, 11:57 GMT |
Williams's form in qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix has proved that the team has banished its wet weather Formula 1 woes, claim its drivers
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 18th 2014, 11:08 GMT |
Sergio Perez does not expect Force India to be as competitive in the Chinese Grand Prix as it was last time out in Bahrain, after struggling in free practice
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 18th 2014, 11:14 GMT |
Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci thought an initial approach to take the job last week was an April Fool's joke.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 17th 2014, 11:59 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel expects a step forward from the Red Bull Formula 1 team in this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, but accepts Mercedes is out of reach
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| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Thursday, April 17th 2014, 11:22 GMT |
Nico Rosberg says he and Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton plan 'clear the air' talks to ensure their fierce Bahrain Grand Prix lead battle did not leave any animosity.
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| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, April 17th 2014, 11:45 GMT |
Jenson Button has revealed an experimental set-up caused the clutch issue that wrecked the McLaren Formula 1 team's Bahrain Grand Prix
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| By Dieter Rencken and Ben Anderson | Wednesday, April 16th 2014, 09:47 GMT |
Rob Smedley says there is "no panic" at Williams, despite missing chances to score podiums in the first three races of the new Formula 1 season.
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| Wednesday, April 16th 2014, 08:31 GMT |
Juan Pablo Montoya believes new Formula 1 entrant Gene Haas's plan to run his team from America is "mad".
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| Wednesday, April 16th 2014, 10:50 GMT |
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he will be more involved in the running of the Formula 1 team in order to help new team boss Marco Mattiacci
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 15th 2014, 09:30 GMT |
Red Bull has said it accepts the FIA Court of Appeal's decision that Daniel Ricciardo exclusion from second place in the Australian Grand Prix will stand.
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 15th 2014, 08:54 GMT |
The FIA Court of Appeal has rejected the Red Bull Formula 1 team's appeal against Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 15th 2014, 10:22 GMT |
The FIA Court of Appeal's hearing of Red Bull's attempt to overturn Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix was a test case for Formula 1's new fuel-efficiency regulations
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 14th 2014, 10:18 GMT |
Stefano Domenicali has stepped down as team principal of the Ferrari Formula 1 team.
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| By Edd Straw | Monday, April 14th 2014, 10:29 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo would not have been able to finish second in the Australian Grand Prix had Red Bull adhered to the FIA's Formula 1 fuel-flow sensor, Adrian Newey has admitted
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, April 14th 2014, 11:25 GMT |
Outgoing Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says he had to take responsibility for the Scuderia's poor performances in the early part of the Formula 1 season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 16:16 GMT |
Gene Haas has secured a Formula 1 team entry for 2015.Gene Haas has secured a Formula 1 team entry for the 2015 season.
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 11th 2014, 16:23 GMT |
Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the compounds it will bring to the Spanish, Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 18:46 GMT |
Formula 1 teams have been called to an urgent cost cuts meeting on May 1 to try to agree on a way to bring budgets down
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 16:16 GMT |
Gene Haas has secured a Formula 1 team entry for 2015.Gene Haas has secured a Formula 1 team entry for the 2015 season.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 11th 2014, 16:23 GMT |
Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the compounds it will bring to the Spanish, Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 18:46 GMT |
Formula 1 teams have been called to an urgent cost cuts meeting on May 1 to try to agree on a way to bring budgets down
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 09:03 GMT |
Mercedes insists it will not change its policy of allowing its drivers to look at each other's data, despite the likelihood that they will be fighting for the Formula 1 title.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 10th 2014, 15:10 GMT |
Sergio Perez has revealed that he came close to quitting Formula 1 last year after losing his place at McLaren.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 11th 2014, 09:57 GMT |
Red Bull claims that new evidence has come to light that will boost its Formula 1 appeal case hearing against Daniel Ricciardo's Australian Grand Prix disqualification.
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| Wednesday, April 9th 2014, 15:33 GMT |
Mercedes was again the team to beat in Bahrain, as Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets on the final day of the first Formula 1 in-season test of 2014
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 10th 2014, 09:59 GMT |
Formula 1 chiefs should take on board fans' criticisms of double points to rethink the controversial rule at the end of this year, claims FIA president Jean Todt.
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| By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 10th 2014, 11:20 GMT |
Formula 1's smaller teams have hit out at the way the FIA has been so quick to abandon plans for a cost cap.
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| By Dieter Rencken and Matt Beer | Wednesday, April 9th 2014, 09:14 GMT |
The Red Bull Formula 1 team has appointed Dan Fallows as its new head of aerodynamics to replace McLaren-bound Peter Prodromou
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 9th 2014, 07:34 GMT |
The switch to the new turbo engines for 2014 was essential to prevent Mercedes from thinking about quitting Formula 1, a senior board member from the German car manufacturer has revealed
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| By Dieter Rencken and Matt Beer | Wednesday, April 9th 2014, 10:46 GMT |
The McLaren and Red Bull Formula 1 teams are in a legal dispute over the latter's new head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows
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| Tuesday, April 8th 2014, 08:18 GMT |
McLaren has postponed protege Stoffel Vandoorne's Formula 1 test debut and will keep Kevin Magnussen in the car for this week's Bahrain test.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 8th 2014, 09:42 GMT |
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has warned fans that there may be no easy fix for making the 2014 cars louder.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 8th 2014, 11:05 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton says he will take a leaf out of Nico Rosberg's book and study his Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate's data to work out where he can do better.
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| By Dieter Rencken and Ben Anderson | Monday, April 7th 2014, 10:04 GMT |
The Williams Formula 1 drivers reckon they could have finished higher up in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix had the FW36 been kinder on its rear tyres.
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, April 7th 2014, 10:14 GMT |
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has praised the job done by Mercedes in the first three races of the 2014 Formula 1 season, describing the team as "fantastic".
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 7th 2014, 11:42 GMT |
Red Bull has admitted that its 2014 Formula 1 title hopes are going to be locked in damage limitation mode until Renault improves its engine.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, April 5th 2014, 20:41 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton reckons a car balance that has moved away from his liking was key to Nico Rosberg beating him to pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, April 6th 2014, 09:42 GMT |
Bernie Ecclestone thinks urgent changes to improve the Formula 1 spectacle are now essential - after claiming on Sunday that the current state of the racing is 'unacceptable' for fans
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, April 6th 2014, 10:33 GMT |
Formula 1 could have two new teams in 2015, the sport's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has suggested
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Friday, April 4th 2014, 18:59 GMT |
Jenson Button has admitted that the gap to Formula 1 pacesetter Mercedes is even bigger than he expected after Friday's free practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 4th 2014, 19:28 GMT |
The FIA has reprimanded Nico Rosberg for impeding Sergio Perez during the second Formula 1 free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 4th 2014, 20:52 GMT |
Formula 1 drivers have been told that modifications will be made to Sakhir's Turn 4 kerbing after incidents involving Kimi Raikkonen and Pastor Maldonado during Bahrain Grand Prix free practice.
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| Friday, April 4th 2014, 11:08 GMT |
British Grand Prix organisers have been given the green light to open the pitlane for Formula 1 fans on the Thursday before the race.
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, April 4th 2014, 11:00 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton insists his relationship with Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Nico Rosberg will be unaffected by the potential friction of a title fight.
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| Friday, April 4th 2014, 11:15 GMT |
Michael Schumacher is showing 'moments of consciousness' his manager revealed on Friday, amid signs of an improvement in his condition.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 3rd 2014, 09:08 GMT |
Luca di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone plan to meet with Jean Todt during the Bahrain GP discuss potential changes that could improve the spectacle of Formula 1.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 16:10 GMT |
Mercedes says it cannot be blind to the prospect of friction developing between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg this year if they get locked in a Formula 1 title fight
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 3rd 2014, 10:34 GMT |
Sergio Perez has labelled the 2014 Formula 1 spectacle as 'boring', citing a lack of overtaking and drivers being unable to push to the maximum
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| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 09:46 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg sees no reason why Force India cannot maintain its strong start to the season and continue to challenge near the front of the Formula 1 field.
The German has finished in the top six in both of the first two grands prix held so far in 2014, narrowly missing out on beating Fernando Alonso's Ferrari in a close race for fourth in Malaysia.
Force India has been an occasional giant-killing underdog in recent years, but Hulkenberg believes Vijay Mallya's squad has a strong enough package this season to be in the top six regularly.
"I don't see any reason why we couldn't maintain that, it should be possible," said Hulkenberg.
"Of course we are in the middle of a development race, so we've got to make sure all the things we learn, the weaknesses of the car, that we translate that into a better package.
"But I think we can still stay strong. Of course sometimes it may be a bit track dependant, but I think we have a very decent package."
Deputy team principal Bob Fernley praised Hulkenberg's driving, but insisted Force India has built a car good enough to challenge F1's bigger teams on a consistent basis.
"I don't think he's outperforming the car. He's doing a good job with the car, but without the car he can't do that," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.
"It's going to vary a little bit from circuit to circuit as we get used to things and that's the going to be the case for a few races until things settle down.
"Certainly the intention is not to slip back. It's actually to try to go forward.
"I think we are where we wanted to be [at the moment]. We set out at the beginning of the season with a view to try to break into the top four or five teams and I think we're there.
"What we've got to do is stay there and try a bit harder to be at the front end. Podiums are what we're looking for. We've not been cowering in any way. The objective is podiums and we're not going to back off it."
DIFFICULT START FOR PEREZ
McLaren refugee Sergio Perez has endured a much tougher to start to his season with Force India, qualifying well behind team-mate Hulkenberg, finishing a distant 10th in Australia and failing to start the Malaysian GP thanks to a software glitch.
Fernley said the team had let Perez down in Malaysia, where he reckons the Mexican could have been up with Hulkenberg had he taken the start.
"The poor guy has struggled," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.
"It didn't help when he got taken out with [Esteban] Gutierrez in Melbourne, but he fought his way back to a great position in 10th.
"Sadly we let him down a bit in Malaysia. We had a software glitch that took him out. Had that not happened I think he'd have been right behind Nico."
| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 10:45 GMT |
Rob Smedley will start work for the Williams Formula 1 team at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Smedley, who worked as Felipe Massa's race engineer at Ferrari from 2006-13, has taken up the role of head of vehicle performance at Williams and is travelling to Bahrain this week after officially starting his new role on Monday.
He will be running the pitwall on race weekends and will be the senior engineer at the track working under chief technical officer Pat Symonds.
That role has been filled by chief test and support engineer Rod Nelson so far this season.
"He'll be track and I will be factory and testing," said Nelson of their job roles.
"I'll do the tests through the season and go to the races that precede those just to get up to speed with where the race team is with the car.
"We will have quite a bit of interplay between us through a race weekend as I'll be running the control room at Williams and he will run the pitwall."
Rob Smedley joins Williams F1 team
The interaction between factory and race team has been a weakness at Williams at times in recent seasons and this structure, put in place by Symonds, should allow the team to continue on its upward curve.
"When you are racing, you need good communication with the factory because you are after quick turnarounds," said Nelson.
"If you have a problem on Friday, you want it solved on Friday but that's always an issue, keeping lines open all the time."
Massa believes that Smedley is a key recruitment and will bring new ideas to the team.
The Brazilian's relationship with Smedley was one of the longest and most celebrated between race engineer and driver in F1.
"He's going to bring a lot of experience to the team and he's going to bring a lot of good ideas for race team organisation," said Massa.
"There's a lot going on in the team, a lot of improvements, a lot of things that are going in a good direction.
"But there is still a lot to do and I am sure he will be an important key as well."
DID YOU KNOW...
Rob Smedley first worked as Felipe Massa's race engineer at the 2006 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
He replaced Gabriele delli Colli in the role because Massa had a difficult relationship with his original race engineer at Ferrari.
Massa claimed his first podium in F1 in that race and was engineered by Smedley for 135 races, 11 of which were wins.
| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 11:42 GMT |
Caterham is now able to focus on set-up and development work after proving its 2014 Formula 1 car is reliable with a double finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson finished 13th and 14th in Malaysia and the Japanese driver believes the race is effectively the starting point of the team's season.
"It has been a very difficult time for the team, so finishing the race with both cars is great," said Kobayashi when asked about the result by AUTOSPORT.
"This is, in reality, our start for the rest of the year.
"The focus was not the beginning, and the end of the season is going to be more important for us, but this is a good way to start and now we really have to focus on reliability in practice and, of course, on performance.
"We can see the potential, but we have to focus and work really hard."
Kobayashi stressed that while the result was encouraging, the team has ambitions above simply finishing in the lower midfield.
Although the car can improve, he needs more running to understand what its true potential is and how long it will take for Caterham to emerge as a potential points scorer.
"We definitely have a lot of work to do and we cannot be too happy with this result, but the most important thing is to always make steps," he said.
"Our target is to score points. We don't know how much time we need, but definitely we need to target that.
"From Bahrain [testing] I haven't changed any settings, so unfortunately we don't know how much effect there can be with small changes.
"I need more time to understand [the potential] but we need to work on the development a lot."
