Sahara Force India F1 Team driver Esteban Ocon says the VJM10 looks competitive so far this weekend, and he is confident of a strong result in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Frenchman felt the car looked good today in both dry and wet conditions. In Free Practice 1 they got in plenty of running in anticipation of the rain later in the day, and that proved to be the right strategy as the rain fell for the majority of the second practice session. Ocon went out nevertheless to evaluate the performance of the VJM10 in wet conditions, and was happy with the way the car felt, with no worries should they get rain on race day.
Although they were unable to complete a full exploratory set-up programme, because of the rain, the 21-year-old believes they are well set for tomorrow and the race, with perhaps a few small tweaks needed in the morning.
“The morning session went well and we did a lot of work because we were expecting the rain later in the day.
“During FP2, we went out to experience the conditions and the car felt strong, so I’m not worried if the rain comes back tomorrow. If it’s wet or dry, we have a well-balanced car and we can be competitive.
“In the dry the car was not far away from where I wanted it to be – similar to how the car felt in Malaysia, so that’s a good sign.
“We didn’t have much time to work on the set-up adjustments, but I have a good feeling and we know where we need to focus tonight.”
