Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer at Sahara Force India F1 Team, said the team had a lot of positives to take from their performance at the Monaco Grand Prix – and that the team is hoping they can continue the good results in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez finished sixth and ninth respectively in qualifying, whilst in the race Ocon finished in sixth place whilst pit-stop issues dropped Pérez out of the points.
This strong finish was not only good for the drivers, but helped the team as well. Force India is currently locked in a midfield battle in the Constructors’ Championship, currently sitting between McLaren F1 Team and Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda. Ocon’s sixth place helped them both narrow the gap to McLaren and increase the gap to Toro Rosso, leaving them fourteen points shy of McLaren in fifth place and seven points ahead of Toro Rosso in seventh.
After the race Szafnauer praised Ocon’s “mature drive” to sixth and commiserated Pérez’s twelfth place.
“Congratulations to the entire team on a well-deserved sixth place in Monaco,” said Szafnauer.
“Esteban did an excellent job all weekend and hasn’t put a wheel out of place. After his strong qualifying performance it was very satisfying to see him bring home eight points today with a very mature drive.
“It’s a shame that Sergio had an issue at the pit stop, which undoubtedly cost him the opportunity to finish inside the top ten. He showed good pace in the second half of the race but without track position it was hard to make it count.
“We take a lot of encouragement from our strong performance this weekend and will look to carry this momentum into Montreal in a couple of weeks’ time.”
