Sahara Force India consolidates fourth place in Constructors’ Championship

While the Constructors’ title is now secured for Mercedes, Sahara Force India and Williams are engaged in a constant battle for the gain of fourth place. This battle was evident during the Japanese Grand Prix as the four cars from the two teams often competed on the track.

Thus, after missed qualifications, the Williams drivers decided to adopt an offset strategy. This forced Sergio Perez to overtake his opponents directly on the track and not just in the pits: « “Our car was very fast today and the two-stop strategy was clearly the right one for us. It meant we had to overtake the Williams on track because they were on a different strategy. Fortunately, I managed to make these overtakes quite early.” »

Nico Hülkenberg also crossed swords with a Williams driver, namely Valtteri Bottas, which led to a joyful reaction from the German driver on the radio.

LAP 22/53

HUL sweeps around the outside of BOT at the chicane 👏

📻 “See you later” – @HulkHülkenberg 😎 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/8yQxoLQm7M

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2016

After the race, he explained how he had strategized his move: « The overtake on Valtteri was the highlight of my race. I attempted an overtake a lap earlier but didn’t exit the last corner well and couldn’t pass him at the first corner. So I said to myself, “If you don’t make it here, I’ll get you at the chicane instead!” I pulled off a nice maneuver: it was a wheel-to-wheel battle. »

The driver 27 did not fail to emphasize the importance this had in the Constructors’ Championship: « It was important to finish with both cars in the points. We know that every race and every point counts until the end because the battle for the championship is going to go to the last race. It’s going to be fun and a great challenge. »