Nico Hulkenberg says Force India's B-spec car showed an immediate step forward in performance during Friday practice at Silverstone.

Force India has been waiting for its new car since its delayed start to the 2015 season and finally unveiled it ahead of the British Grand Prix. The car showed a marked improvement from the start of practice, with Hulkenberg in the top ten of both Friday sessions.

"Definitely," he said when asked if it felt good to finally get his hands on the B-spec. "I think it was a positive day for us to finally run it and find some really good things with it. Straight away we have made a step forward with our performance, especially at this circuit which is high-speed dominated, which used to be our Achilles Heel.

"Now the car feels stronger, definitely. Of course we are still discovering, exploiting the car, the set-up, the options... but so far so good."

Asked specifically where the car had made progress, Hulkenberg said: "It was the rear grip for us, rear load, that has improved."

Team-mate Sergio Perez warned against expecting immediate results on Thursday and Hulkenberg thinks Force India should target a points finish from this weekend.

"On Sunday we want to challenge for points. By the looks of it, we had quite a smooth Friday, but it is still tough. You have Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull buried in the front more or less, so that is the first six already. Behind them Toro Rosso looked strong, especially on the long run and I hope then it is us."