Esteban Ocon will start the Austrian Grand Prix but admitted he was not completely happy with qualifying, after losing the chance to improve his time with fresh tyres thanks to yellow flags.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team racer set his best time in the top ten shootout on used tyres, but was set to go out again on fresh rubber, only for Romain Grosjean to stop on track and Max Verstappen spin, denying him the chance of improvement, and meaning he would start down on the fifth row of the grid.
Ocon’s focus now turns to race day and he believes he can score some good points for the Silverstone-based team, with the Frenchman having finished inside the top ten in seven of the first eight races of 2017.
“I am not completely happy with ninth place, given all that happened in the session, but it’s still a good starting position,” said Ocon. “My fastest lap in Q3 was set on used tyres, but the yellow flags meant I couldn’t finish my attempt on fresh tyres.
“I feel I could have been a couple of places higher up, but it’s the way racing goes sometimes – you have to take your chances when you can. We need to review if there is something we could have done better, but I am still feeling positive about the weekend.
“We improved a lot since yesterday and the feeling I have with the car is much better now than it was during practice. I enjoy this track and it’s a place where you can overtake so hopefully we can bring home some good points tomorrow.”
