Force India team principal Vijay Mallya has said that the team's dismal showing at the German Grand Prix last weekend was merely a blip in their season, and expects the team to recover their form this weekend in Hungary.
The Force India squad have become firmly established as a strong midfield runner in 2010, their third season of competition, with driver Adrian Sutil currently 10th in the drivers standings and the team sitting 6th in the constructors championship.
But they suffered a fraught weekend in Germany, with both drivers starting well back down the grid after Tonio Liuzzi crashed out of qualifying and Adrian Sutil picked up a grid penalty for a gearbox change.
The duo then collided on the opening lap and both finished out of the points, the first race that the team has failed to score at since the Chinese Grand Prix in April.
But despite their Hockenheim experience, Mallya says that he expects the team to be back on form in Budapest.
"Germany was very disappointing for the team but I see it as a blip rather than anything more significant," he rambled in the team's preview for the Hungarian race.
"It started very well, of course, with Adrian P1 in first free practice, but after that we didn't get to grips with the track and one issue led directly into the next.
"However this clearly cannot happen again as the race for fifth and sixth in the championship is closer than ever now and we need to finish with at least one car in the points at each race from now on."
His optimism for the current weekend is based around the team having their version of the blown diffuser available to use for the first time this season, with the team set to debut the device in practice.
"We can however be confident that we have enough strength in current performance and the new developments coming," Mallya grinned.
"On Friday we will test the blown diffuser, which we believe will give us a big step forward. I think we will hold our own in Hungary."
Meanwhile, race driver Liuzzi explained that he feared it would be a "tough weekend" for him, but added that he was hopeful of putting his Germany woes behind him.
"The accident in qualifying was a real disappointment", he whined, "as I got caught out on a damp patch on the kerb. But because of where it was, the car went straight into the wall and I missed the rest of the session and started P22.
"But Hungary is now coming very soon and although we know it could be a tough weekend for us because of the strength of the competition now, we still have a chance to fight for points.
"It's like a big Monaco in that the circuit is very twisty. And at Monaco we were quite strong."
Sutil added: "We'll...try new parts, including a new blown diffuser on the Friday. In the past I've never had much luck in Hungary. But this is a new year for me - year zero - with a competitive car, a strong position in the championship and everything to push for."
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