Mixed fortunes for Force India at Sepang

Force India drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez experienced a very different Malaysian Grand Prix, with a tumultuous race for the Frenchman, finishing in tenth place, and a calm race for the Mexican, resulting in sixth place.

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Rédigé par Par

Esteban Ocon’s race promised an interesting result at the finish after qualifying in sixth place. However, things did not go as planned for the French driver, as he did not have a good start and became the unfortunate victim of a racing incident at the second corner. Indeed, at the end of the long snail-shaped turn, the Mercedes protégé found himself sandwiched between Sergio Pérez on the inside and Felipe Massa on the outside.

As a consequence of this incident, the French driver had to return to the pit to change his considerably damaged tires without changing his front wing, which was also slightly damaged, to avoid compromising any chance of a result: « It was a disappointing race and I’m not very happy. The contact on the first lap with Massa gave me a puncture and ruined my race. I had to stop on the second lap and drive almost the entire race on a set of soft tires. »

Another event in the race for the Force India driver, a collision on the twenty-fifth lap with Carlos Sainz, further complicated his task in an already difficult race: « The other bad moment of my race happened when I overtook Sainz, and he crashed into me. I don’t know what he did, but he locked his wheels and crashed into me. So, it’s a race to forget for me because the car’s pace was good, and we couldn’t maximize it. »

Despite this difficult race, Esteban Ocon still managed to secure the point for tenth place.

For Sergio Pérez, the situation was entirely different as he started the race in ninth position after qualifications were disrupted by a stomach infection. Unlike his teammate, Pérez managed to make a good start, overtaking several cars.

The Mexican’s race was much calmer once he managed to pass Stoffel Vandoorne for sixth place: « Having a good start was key to my race as well as overtaking Vandoorne in the early laps. After that, I managed to control my race and everything went incident-free. We were able to extend the first stint and manage our tires well. I was under pressure from Vettel, but it wasn’t really my fight. »

Subsequently, the driver who will soon compete in his home race talks about the most difficult race of his career while thanking the doctors for the quality of the treatments provided: « It was probably the most difficult race of my career, a weekend where I feared I might have to retire. It’s an amazing result simply because I made it to the finish, I didn’t stop out of determination and I must thank the doctors for helping me. »

It is on a positive note that a weekend which could have been far less conclusive ends: « We scored some very important points for the team and I am happy to return home with a good result after such a difficult weekend. I hope to regain my full physical form in Japan. »

At the finish, it is therefore a solid sixth place achieved by Pérez despite still faltering health on a physically very demanding circuit.

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