Brake problems for Esteban Ocon on his Australian debut

After a very successful 2016 season with a fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, Sahara Force India is in the spotlight. Especially with this famous pink livery that has commentators buzzing.

Ocon: FP1 → 16th, 1:27.656 (23 laps) / FP2 → 13th, 1:26.145 (37 laps)

Esteban Ocon was discovering a brand new circuit today since last year at the same period he was only a reserve driver for Renault. On a circuit very similar to an urban one, it is important to quickly get one’s bearings in order not to end up swiftly in the safety barriers.

But the Frenchman’s work was not helped by issues with his braking system: “I didn’t have the best start to the day with brake problems that delayed the start of my stint, but the afternoon was easier. I was able to find a better rhythm.”

Not the perfect start of the season with some issues throughout the day, some work to do overnight and more to come tomorrow 💪🏼👊🏼😉! pic.twitter.com/bghUVtyXhH — Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) 24 mars 2017

He therefore completed several laps in the afternoon to make up for lost time and get acclimated to this new track. He posted the second highest number of laps in the session, just two laps behind Daniil Kvyat.

Perez: FP1 → 10th, 1:26.276 (29 laps) / FP2 → 11th, 1:25.591 (35 laps)

For Sergio Perez, the back-to-school period went as expected. The Mexican was able to put together stints and test the different tires available to make the most of them. He therefore believes he has all the cards in hand to refine his settings in the evening and be able to squeeze into Q3 during qualifying: « It’s always important to start the year with a trouble-free day and cover a lot of kilometers. As usual in Melbourne, the track was very green during the first session but evolved a lot for the second. We used all the tire compounds and we have the necessary data to improve tonight. »