Vijay Mallya insists Force India is "not letting go" in the development race as it strives to stay ahead of Lotus in the battle for fifth in the constructors' championship.
Force India has not finished outside the points since the introduction of its B-Spec car at the British Grand Prix. In previous year's the team has struggled towards the end of the season with a lack of resources compared to its rivals, such as in 2014 when it dropped from fourth to sixth in the second half of the campaign.
The team is currently 19 points ahead of fellow Mercedes customer Lotus in the championship and, ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Mallya insists the team will keep pushing until the last race on the calendar.
"Suzuka is one of the classic tracks in Formula One and another important step in our battle for fifth place in the championship," Mallya said. "The medium-speed corners that make up most of the circuit will provide a good test for the VJM08 and will give us another indication about the effectiveness of the upgrades we brought to Singapore. We are not letting go in the development race and we will keep pushing until the end, so it is crucial we gain performance with every new step we take."
Sergio Perez, who has finished fifth, sixth and seventh at the last three races, thinks the team's recent form is proof of how strong the VJM08 B-Spec can be at any circuit.
"We have taken a lot of encouragement from the result in Singapore, which was my third points finish in a row, and I think we can score well in Japan too," Perez said. "When you see how the VJM08 has developed and the results we are achieving, it tells you that we can be competitive on every track and Suzuka shouldn't be any different."