Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon return to the points in Melbourne
A fine first race for Sahara Force India, with its two drivers, Sergio Perez (7th) and Esteban Ocon (10th), in the points. The Frenchman scores the first points of his career.
Sahara Force India hopes to replicate last year’s performance of finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. This is not yet the case as they are currently in fifth place, but only one point behind Williams.
Sergio Perez, 7th
Sergio Perez delivered another very strong performance at the wheel of his Sahara Force India. He was able to find an opening on both Toro Rosso cars of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat on a circuit where overtaking is traditionally quite complicated. He was thus forced to go all out, especially against the Spanish driver.
The Mexican driver could therefore only be pleased because he is well aware that his car does not allow him to dream of much better at the moment: « I am delighted with this result and I don’t think we could have done better today. Seventh is the best we could do, and the team had to make the right decisions to achieve this result. We had the right strategy and managed the tires well to bring the points home. We still had to make some big maneuvers on Kvyat and Sainz, even though it’s not easy to overtake. Once in front, I felt I was in a very good position. »
Indeed, once past, he was unable to overtake the two Toro Rosso drivers but was not particularly troubled and was able to collect the six points for the seventh place.
Esteban Ocon, 10th
His new teammate, Esteban Ocon, also had to fight to earn his first point in F1. Indeed, the former Manor driver had an intense battle with Fernando Alonso for most of the race. He eventually found an opening at the end of the straight with five laps to go, while also withstanding a simultaneous attack from Nico Hülkenberg, which became the race’s highlight: « I spent almost the entire race battling with Fernando because we went side-by-side for the first lap. He managed to stay ahead, and I had to chase him for the rest of the afternoon. It was a tough fight because Fernando is a fierce competitor, and it was so difficult to get close and overtake. I finally found a gap a few laps before the end and took my chance at the first corner. It was a big moment in my race and helped me get into the points. »
The Frenchman was thus able to enter the top 10 for the first time, synonymous with earning his first point in F1, which is the first milestone achieved.
