Esteban Ocon arrives at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix full of confidence after securing his best finish to date in his Formula 1 career last time out when he finished seventh in Russia.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team racer was delighted to continue his points scoring run since the beginning of the season, and said that it was a great weekend for the team who continued to improve their car through every session, and as a result was rewarded with a strong two-car points finish.
“I’m feeling positive after our performance in Sochi,” said Ocon. “It shows the results we can achieve when everything goes to plan because we improved the car during each session.
“The team did an awesome job because I felt comfortable in the car and could really push. It’s a good sign for the races to come and I feel we have lots more potential to find with the VJM10.”
Ocon feels returning to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time since pre-season testing will see just how far the team have improved since then, with the Frenchman knowing the importance of having a good aero set-up on the car in order to be truly on the pace.
“Coming back to Barcelona is an opportunity to see how much we have improved the car since winter testing,” insisted Ocon. “It’s a track that shows your strengths and weaknesses because there is nowhere to hide. It’s all about aero performance and having confidence.
“I’m quite pleased to be back in Europe. It’s closer to home and it just feels a bit more familiar because I’ve raced at Barcelona so many times when I was younger. I really enjoy the flow of the lap and there are corners, such as one and two, where you can’t afford to make a mistake because it hurts your speed all the way through turn three. The final sector is also very technical and you need to be very precise with how you position the car to ensure you don’t lose any time.”
