28/05/2017
NEWS STORY
Sahara Force India was out of luck in Monaco as both Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon missed out on extending their run of points finishes.
Esteban Ocon: "It has been a difficult day and a tough weekend overall. Things just didn't work out for us in the race, which is a shame because we had strong pace and should have finished in the points. I was fighting with Felipe [Massa] in the early part of the race and we managed to undercut him during the pit stops, but then I picked up a puncture - probably from debris - and had to make an extra pit stop. That really compromised my race. So there was some bad luck, but I want to focus on the positives. The car felt good in clean air and the team made all the right decisions. We were just missing the luck today."
Sergio Perez: "It's disappointing to come away from here with no points. Our race was compromised on the first lap, when I made contact with Sainz and damaged my front wing. We had to stop early and ended up in traffic, and it was always going to be difficult to recover to the points. We had a lot of pace in the car, but overtaking is always a challenge, even when you are much faster than the cars in front. After the Safety Car, with the field bunched up, I was on fresh tyres and all the cars ahead were struggling. I had a big opportunity to make up a few positions, but in Monaco there is no way to overtake without taking risks. I wasn't any more aggressive than when I passed Palmer, Vandoorne or Stroll earlier in the race, but with Daniil [Kvyat] he didn't give me enough space and we touched. It wasn't a big hit but it was enough to ruin both our races. Even though I missed out on points, I am proud of my race because I gave everything I could. I feel really sorry for my team because we deserved more from this weekend and our string of good results is over, but we can take a lot of positives from today and build on them for the rest of the season."
Robert Fernley: "A day of unrealised potential on both sides of the garage. Sergio's contact with Sainz on lap one proved very costly with the early pit stop to change the nose. For Esteban, it was always going to be difficult to battle through from P15 on the grid, but the race was coming to us until he picked up a puncture. It cost Esteban a handful of points and that was a real shame. So it was one of those days when things didn't go our way - as can often be the case in Monaco. We will dust ourselves down and look to come back strongly in Montreal in two weeks' time."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Monaco, here.