Indian GP: Timo Glock up for challenge after crashing out last year

Having crashed out of the inaugural edition of the Indian Grand Prix last year, Marussia-Cosworth F1 team driver Timo Glock says he is determined to do well this time around.

Glock is impressed with the Buddh International Circuit and said that though the track was a challenging one it provides you with lot of options.

"Last year I went out unfortunately, let's see what we can do (this year)," the German driver told PTI.

"The circuit has a lot of unique qualities which makes it special. The track is quite wide which gives you lot of (overtaking) options. It is challenging but has a very nice drive. I hope they didn't do any track changes. I look forward to be back again," Glock said.

Glock who is currently placed at 19th position in the drivers standing, however, said the heat factor can make the weekend race quite demanding.

"It is not the most challenging (GP), but the combination with the heat can make it quite demanding for everyone," he pointed out.

The German racer who is the lead driver of the low-ranked Marussia-Cosworth said the smaller teams find it tough to compete with the teams having big budget.

"It is very difficult to close the gap. The big guys have 200-300 million euros and we have 60 million euros. So it is very difficult," he said.

Glock, though, said the team will look to finish within top-ten among the 12 participating teams, which will ensure a better budget for them next year.

"Every race which comes up now is very important for us. We are trying to keep the tenth place in the constructors standings this year, which will give us more money for next year. The only way to move forward is to have a better budget. This is what we are targeting," he said.

Glock who stood 12th at the Singapore GP, his best finish so far in the season, was modest enough to admit that he had some luck going in his favour that day.

He added that he will aim to break into the top-10 drivers standing next year.

"Singapore was quite special for us. We had a very good strategy and I did well. We managed 12th position. There were couple of cars out of way, so we had some luck.

"Our target is to be in top-ten (drivers) by next year. It will be quite difficult but we will try our best," Glock said.

The German, who started his F1 career in 2004 with Jordan and later moved to Toyota, said the Marussia team is a bit different.

"It is very different. At Toyota we had a lot of possibilities, big budget, lots of people working. It was a different scenario. Things changed and Toyota decided to step out which was a shame, I think, at that time. It is different here. But still I see possibilities here to move up and make it better," Glock insisted.

He admitted lack of Kinetic Energy Recovery System in their cars is a disadvantage compared to the other teams. KERS converts energy generated under braking and turns it into additional power.

"That is our downside that we don't have KERS at the moment. That was the downside for us in the race in Korea. I was fighting against (Heikki) Kovalainen and he used the KERS system which gave him more power. So I had no chance to take him over. That was the trouble, but we will try to have it next year which should help us," he said.

Asked about the F1 being flooded by German drivers, the 30-year-old said, "I have no idea why we have so many German drivers. Probably because of Michael Schumacher who got the ball rolling. We have a good school in Germany for go-karting and moving up to Formula 1. Maybe that is the reason why we have so many German drivers."

Asked if more night races should be introduced, like the one in Singapore, he said, "I don't think it is possible for every track. The show is very good and very positive. Let us see what they come up with but I would prefer it. I like night races."

He further said he would like to have more pressure during the race than the top-five drivers to motivate him.

"I don't know if it (underdog's tag) helps. No one expects us to finish somewhere in the top-10. But similar pressure is there to get the best out of us. To outrun the guy in front of us. But I would like to have more pressure than top-five finishers," he said.

He ruled out the possibility of early retirement and said, "Not at the moment. I think there are possibilities to do something after Formula 1. If you see Michael (Schumacher), he is 42. There is still enough time for me. Let us see how the next years go and then we can decide."

Glock added he is happy the way he has performed in his career and remarked the only downside of F1 is the time spent at airports.

He added he has a long contract with Marussia and has no plans to switch teams unlike British racer Lewis Hamilton. "At the moment I don't see me switching teams. I will be here for next year as well," he said.