Ocon and Pérez in the running to score big points?
The Force India team seems well-positioned this weekend in Suzuka to aim for points. Esteban Ocon qualified 7th, followed by his teammate, Sergio Pérez, with the 8th fastest time of the day. Both drivers will gain positions on the grid tomorrow due to penalties for Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen.
Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez demonstrated the potential of their car by being the fourth force of the day. All hopes are allowed for scoring good points tomorrow, thanks to this 7th and 8th time. Even better, the Force India drivers will benefit from the penalties of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen and will gain positions on the grid. They will therefore start from 5th and 7th positions.
Esteban Ocon: 7th (5th on the grid tomorrow) => 1:29.111
At the end of these qualifications, Esteban Ocon was more than satisfied with his performance. He considers his car to be performing well since the start of the weekend, both in dry and wet conditions: « I am very happy after the qualifications. The car has been fantastic since the start of the weekend, as in Malaysia, and our result today shows the progress made with the development of the car,” he confides.
Whether it’s wet or dry, the car has been fast. We only made a few adjustments to find the performance. With the penalties for the other drivers, it seems I will be starting from the fifth position. So there’s a great opportunity to score big points. he concludes.
Sergio Pérez: 8th (7th on the grid tomorrow) => 1:29.260
On his side, Sergio Pérez qualified 8th on the grid. Like his teammate, he will benefit from the penalty imposed on Kimi Räikkönen to gain a position on the grid. And like Esteban Ocon, satisfaction was also in order for the Mexican, despite a small mistake during his last flying lap in Q3.
This qualifying session was very good for us. The team did an excellent job, despite the limited running, by sharing the programs between the two cars to find the best settings. I believe we maximized the potential of the car and achieved the best possible result today, so I am satisfied.
He reflects on his last lap in the third part of qualifying: « My last lap in Q3 was good. I lost a bit of time approaching the last chicane, and that cost me a place to Esteban. He did a very good job throughout the weekend, and together we achieve an important qualifying result for the team. »
« We were expecting a bigger fight in the midfield, but I’m satisfied that we are far ahead of our rivals and close to the Red Bulls. Tomorrow will be a long race, we can score a lot of points because our race pace is good ».
