Force India reached the giddy heights of second place in the Formula One constructors’ championship on Sunday after Mexican Sergio Perez secured only the second podium finish in the team’s history.

The McLaren reject’s third place in the floodlit Bahrain Grand Prix brought the added satisfaction of knocking his former employers into third place overall.

The only other time the Silverstone-based team have finished in the top three was ItalianGiancarlo Fisichella’s second place in Belgium in 2009 after starting from an unexpected pole position.

“Today is one of the greatest days in the history of our team,” said co-owner Vijay Mallya.