Bob Fernley suggests Force India are no longer battling for fourth

Fourth has been dubbed as the ‘best of the rest’ place in the constructors' championship since the start of the season. Today Bob Fernley believes Renault have already sealed that position as Force India are now battling for fifth. 

After seven races, Force India are stuck in 6th place. McLaren have a 12 point advantage whilst Renault are far ahead by 34 points. The Pink Panthers received an engine upgrade this weekend from Mercedes, but their performance didn’t see any improvement. 

“Realistically the battle now is for fifth place,” Fernley told Autosport. "I think it will be very difficult for any of the midfield teams to overtake Renault at this point. Nothing is impossible, but they are very strong.” 

McLaren, in the early stages of the 2018 season, were looking likely to be Renault’s best rivals, but since Spain, they haven’t managed to score a single point. Force India themselves had a double retirement on Sunday which pushed the French team further ahead. 

“It’s disappointing really. We didn’t have a particularly good Friday,” added Fernley. 

“And then the race went from bad to worse. It was a little bit beyond bad luck I think.

“Esteban was hit by Grosjean, and then Gasly. Grosjean just drove straight into him on the pit straight and did a lot of damage to the side. It was a big hit and it was expensive in that we’ve lost a lot of points.”