Sergio Perez insists his Sahara Force India F1 Team still have plenty of work to do in order to start the 2018 Formula 1 season on the front foot, but completing ninety-three laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday was important to get a better understanding of the VJM11.
The Mexican may have ended up tenth fastest overall on Tuesday, but he was able to gain some important data and knowledge about the 2018 car and how it reacts on different compounds of tyre, but with only one more day to come for him in the car, he hopes the remainder of the test can bring the team closer to the front of the field.
“It’s been a good day of running,” said Perez. “We tried several different tyre compounds and understood a lot more about our new car.
“I only have one more day in the car before Melbourne but today gave me a lot more confidence about where we are now, with both the car and the set-up. We still have a lot of work before we are where we want to be, but hopefully we’ll be in a good shape by the time we arrive in Melbourne.”
Perez admits it is too early to compare Force India’s performance to that of any other team, but he is excited to get the year underway, particularly with the aggressive tyre compounds Pirelli has introduced to Formula 1 for 2018.
“It’s difficult to say how we compare to the other teams because we are all on different programmes and fuel loads, but I am excited about this year; it’s going to be very interesting,” said Perez.
“Pirelli have been quite aggressive with the compounds and that should give a lot more strategic options, which should hopefully make for some exciting racing.”
