Force India finish 7th, 10th in Australian GP

Force India drivers brought home seven points from the season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finishing seventh and 10th respectively at Albert Part here on Sunday.

The two, who could not make it through to Q3 in Saturday's qualifying, showed the potential of their Mercedes power-unit with both cars finishing in point-scoring positions.

Hulkenberg was the quicker of the two with a two-stop strategy while Perez did 38 laps of the medium tyre before pitting for softs on which he completed the last 19 laps.

Expressing satisfaction over the result, Hulkenberg, who earned six points, said both the cars finishing in points was a big plus at the start of season.

"I am very pleased with today's result, and starting the season with two cars in the points is always positive. It was a good race. I didn't make any mistake and the reliability of our car helped us take advantage of the problems of others," said the 27-year-old German, who started 14th.

He added that the team was working hard on adding extra pace for the upcoming race in Malaysia on March 29.

"In terms of performance we are not yet where we would like to be but everyone is working really hard to get there and make our car quicker. With points on the board, we can now look forward to Malaysia in a couple of weeks and hopefully take another step forward," said Hulkenberg.

Teammate Perez started a spot behind Hulkenberg and finished 10th to bring home the last point available.

"It was one of those unusual races where so many things happened but I'm certainly happy to come away with a point and see Nico also score good points for the team," said the Mexican.

"We went for a different strategy compared to Nico to maximise the team's chances so I started on medium tyres in order to have the advantage on the softs at the end of the race."