Sergio Perez says there is more to come from Force India's upgraded package and expects a more competitive showing at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
Force India introduced a significant upgrade in Barcelona, where Sergio Perez finished seventh in a race which saw both Mercedes cars crash out on the first lap. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg retired after an oil leak, meaning Force India missed out on a larger points haul, but the Mexican was impressed with how the team performed on its least competitive circuit.
Speaking about the Spain upgrades, Perez said: "They delivered. I think we did a good step on the car in Barcelona. We are obviously still quite far off in race pace. We learn a lot as well from that spec but in the race pace compared to Toro Rosso we were quite far from them.
"Obviously Barcelona is probably our poorest track so I really want to see how we can do here. I think we should be more competitive than we were in Barcelona, I think if people didn't get it wrong in Barcelona we wouldn't make it into the points by pure pace, so there is a lot to improve still but I think we are confident that we are heading in the right direction."
Last year Force India introduced a B-Spec car at the British Grand Prix which delivered a major upswing in performances in the second half of the season. That heightened expectations around the team's first upgrade this season but Perez thinks the team is in better shape now, even if results suggest otherwise.
"I think when you look back at last year, this year we seem to be more competitive at this stage of the year. I think the next big upgrade is coming for Silverstone but I think with this package we can live for a couple of races, we can be competitive and we can make it into the points. I believe that what we are seeing from this car is not the best, there is still a bit more potential out of it.
"There are a couple of differences [to last year's upgrade]. Visually it looks quite similar but the way how the car operates, the windows that we are having are different. So the car I think has made a good step forward and I think there is more potential out of it. We have to run this car [in Monaco] a bit higher on ride height, stuff like that makes it quite a different car. I believe that this year we are having a better car. The way this car operates is a bit different as well so set-up wise we are having to adjust a bit."
When it was put to him the ugrade might not look so good due to the steps made by teams around Force India, Perez said: "Yes, I think the competition have done good steps."