Esteban Ocon believes that the Racing Point Force India F1 Team have the package to score “good points” in tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Ocon qualified ninth, marking a career best grid position in Singapore, joining team-mate Sergio Pérez in the top ten. Ocon ended the session two places behind Pérez, his time of 1 minute 38.365 seconds around four-tenths adrift of the Mexican.
However, Ocon said that he is “quite pleased” with his efforts and praised the upgrades brought to the weekend by Force India – the main focal point being the reshaped barge board configuration.
“I am quite pleased with tonight’s result,” said the Frenchman, who continues to face intense questioning over his Formula 1 future beyond this season.
“We had a great car and the upgrades worked really well, so we can be happy with what we achieved.”
Ocon admitted that his best lap in Qualifying 3 was “not ideal” due to a slight skirmish with the wall, and said that he could’ve been closer to Pérez without the setback. Despite this, Ocon acknowledged the Singapore race’s penchant for chaos and unpredictability, hoping to use Force India’s promising pace to good effect.
“My Q3 lap was not ideal because I brushed the wall and it probably cost me some time,” he added.
“Maybe without this I could have been higher up the grid.
“I feel good about tomorrow – anything can happen in the race and you need to keep out of trouble and be opportunistic.
“Overtaking isn’t easy around here so the first lap will be really important. I think we will have the race pace to score good points.”
