Esteban Ocon is confident of securing points in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, with the Frenchman believing the race pace of his VJM11 is usually stronger than it is in Qualifying trim.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team racer ensured the team had one car in the top ten shootout at their home Grand Prix, with the team’s factory just around the corner from the Silverstone track, with the Frenchman set to start tenth on the grid on Sunday.
Ocon was pleased to return to the top ten after missing it in both the French and Austrian Grand Prix but knows that despite his confidence in the team’s pace in race conditions, scoring points will be far from straightforward, especially with how close the pace of the midfield teams is this weekend at Silverstone.
“I am pretty happy to be back in the top ten after missing out on Q3 in the last two races,” said Ocon. “We have made a step forward and we can be satisfied with our performance gains, but we need to keep pushing.
“We start tomorrow’s race in the points already and I feel confident because we usually have better race pace compared to our single lap speed.
“The middle of the field is so close at the moment so it’s going to be a big battle tomorrow, especially with a Renault [Nico Hülkenberg] behind me and my team-mate, Sergio [Pérez], who will both be pushing hard.”
