Force India team owner Vijay Mallya insists he is refusing to give up on catching Red Bull for third place in the 2017 Formula One constructors' championship.
Ahead of this season, Mallya set the Silverstone-based outfit a target of improving on its best-ever finish in 2016 by attempting to break into the sport's top three, which was locked-out by Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari last year.
Force India sits a comfortable fourth in the constructors' standings at mid-season, having failed to score points on only one occasion so far in Monaco. The team is 54 points clear of fifth-placed Williams and despite being 79 points behind Red Bull -- which has taken one win and a total of six podiums in 2017 -- Mallya believes his goal is still achievable.
"We should have had at least nine, but eight out of ten is a very good record of double-points finishes," Mallya said. "It's very, very satisfying to see two good, competitive drivers. Two cars regularly in the points is exactly what we need.
"We're up to 95 points in ten races, have never had this type of points tally ever in the history of the team that I can remember. 54 points clear of Williams, our nearest competitor, so slowly but steadily consolidating ourselves in fourth position. Let's see what opportunities the second half of the season throw up.
"I'm not giving up on chasing Red Bull, it's always good to set your targets high because that allows you to really challenge yourself in terms of performance. Whether we get that or not, finishing fourth for the second consecutive year is obviously a very creditable achievement."
Mallya says a "robust" development programme, including a planned upgrade at the Singapore Grand Prix in September, emphasises Force India's intentions of catching Red Bull by the end of the campaign.
"If you're able to plan an upgrade as far ahead as Singapore, obviously you have the resources to do it, otherwise we wouldn't be talking about it," he explained. "I said at the beginning of the year that given the fact the 2017 car is a brand new car with no carry over whatsoever from last year, we would have to engage in a robust development program right through the year.
"So that was always planned and it's no surprise to us. We need to fine-tune correlation. Every time we make a small step, we're getting there. But when we finally find the sweet spot - which I hope is sooner rather than later - we should go very well."