Hockenheim: Both the Sahara Force India drivers managed to get into top-10 on the grid for the German Grand Prix as Nico Hulkenberg qualified ninth, just ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
Hulkenberg, for whom it is a home race, pipped Perez by a narrow margin as he clocked 1:18.014 in Q3, just quicker than his team-mate's fastest lap of 1:18.035.
Force India are placed fifth with 91 points, just one more than McLaren.
It will be a challenge for Force India to keep fifth position since Kevin Magnussen has managed to get fourth position on the grid for McLaren even as former champion Jenson Button will start behind the two Force India cars.
"I'm feeling fairly happy and satisfied with ninth place and it's pretty much where we expected to be. This weekend our pace over a single lap has not been the best, but making the top ten gives us a good track position and the chance to make the most of our long-run pace, which has looked promising," Hulkenberg said.
"I think tomorrow will be a tricky race because of the heat and getting the tyre management right will be very important. The hotter races have suited us so far this season so we expect that to be the same tomorrow. Points with both cars has to be the goal," the German added.
Perez said he was happy to make it to Q3 as the crew did an amazing job to get the car ready after a small issue in Q2.
"We couldn't finish our first run on new option tyres, which made things difficult because you lose all track references and the track was changing very quickly with the wind and high temperatures. So we only had one shot to make the top ten and we made it with a great lap.
"I think ninth and tenth in Q3 is a fair result for today, but I expect us to be stronger in the race tomorrow, especially if the weather stays dry. It will be a race where you will have to manage your tyres very well and I'm feeling confident that we can come away with a good result," he said.
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