The Team Lotus squad is aiming for the slightly underwhelming achievement of successfully holding on to tenth place in the constructors championship across the rest of 2011, according to team boss Tony Fernandes.
The Lotus squad have endured a second difficult season in Formula One this season, and like their newbie team rivals are still searching for their first world championship point.But with their stronger finishing record compared to Virgin and HRT, they are classified tenth in the constructors standings with five races to go.
And Fernandes believes that the team should be pushing to retain that place over the final races of the season, citing improved reliability as the best way of ensuring their success.
"I said after Singapore that that grand prix was just about our strongest ever race performance," he grinned in the team's preview of next weekend's Japanese GP.
"Having been through the post-race reports it is very pleasing to see that our pace has definitely improved as a direct result of the upgrade package we brought out there."
He added: "The reliability issue that ended his race is still something we need to improve on – we may be small and we may not have the facilities of the teams ahead of us, but that does not mean our standards should be any lower than them.
"So we have to make sure in Japan, and at the remaining races, that we are a two car team that can help us guarantee tenth place this year.
"That is a reasonable aim and one everyone in the team is working very hard to achieve."
His view was backed up by technical director Mike Gascoyne, who said that the team should be aiming to get both cars home in this weekend's Japanese race.
"With the small step forward we saw from our new aero package in Singapore I think we can use that and a bit of clever tyre strategy to take the fight again to the cars ahead," he guessed.
"If we can get qualifying right we have proved we can mix it in the races in midfield, so that has to be the aim again for the race.
"I[f we] make sure both cars see the chequered flag and be there when it counts to take advantage of what happens around us."
Driver Heikki Kovalainen added that he was pleased with the way the team's latest upgrade package had worked at the Singapore race.
"Singapore worked out really well for us and we all left feeling pretty good about what the new floor and diffuser had given us, and how we'd performed generally all weekend," he grinned.
His team mate Jarno Trulli added that he was looking forward to racing in Japan.
"I've always loved Japan so I'm really looking forward to getting back again for 2011," the Italian grinned gleefully, "On track I'd just like to have a race without some of the bad luck that struck again in Singapore."
He added: "Hopefully in Suzuka I can make up for [the Singapore retirement] and get as much out of the car as I did on Sunday around Marina Bay."
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