Force India warn against another Spa surprise

Force India return to the scene of their greatest race this weekend with scant hopes of repeating last year's Belgian Grand Prix heroics.

The team took their first Formula One pole position at Spa-Francorchamps last August with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella then going on to score their first points with a stunning second place finish.

Fisichella is now a Ferrari test driver while Force India are sixth overall in the championship with German Adrian Sutil and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi scoring regular points but remaining a long way from the podium.

"It's going to be tough to replicate the kind of form we showed in Spa last year," said team principal Vijay Mallya in a preview of Sunday's race.

"Everybody's improved, the competition is fierce and also very even in the midfield -- the gaps between teams is so small now."

Force India should still be competitive in Belgium, with the Mercedes-powered team bringing a new rear wing package in addition to the 'F-duct' which should give them a speed advantage on the long Spa straights.

"Additionally we will be using the new blown floor on both cars on Friday," said Mallya. "We tried it in Hungary, and we hope to actually race it in Spa if the information we gather shows as much of an improvement as it did there."

Sutil, who has spent the summer break filming and doing PR work in Goa and training in Switzerland, looked forward to a strong performance.

"I'm pretty confident that we've got a car that will still suit the track very well," he said.