24/06/2017
NEWS STORY
Sahara Force India carried its strong form into qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Sergio Perez claiming sixth place ahead of Esteban Ocon in seventh.
Sergio Perez: "I'm quite pleased with sixth place. The red flag in Q3 was not helpful because I had yet to set a competitive time and it meant I only had one chance to deliver right at the end. Normally we do an out lap, a preparation lap, and then push, but there just wasn't time. So it was not an ideal Q3, but I'm still happy with our performance. There are quick cars ahead of us and also behind us, so it's going to be a very close battle tomorrow. It's a street circuit so it will be important to stay out of trouble and react quickly as things happen in the race."
Esteban Ocon: "It's the best qualifying position in my career and I am very happy about how the session went. I made a tiny mistake on my fastest lap and that probably cost me a position, but as a team we have been improving every step of the way. Today was all about pushing to the limit: I brushed the wall three times, something I didn't do yesterday, but I wanted to give everything today. We are in a strong position for tomorrow's race and we know anything can happen here. It's a tight track and very tricky to get right. A strong first lap will be crucial, but the most important thing will be to finish the race. If you get to the end here, you can score big points. Our pace is good and I am confident we can get a good result."
Robert Fernley: "Another excellent team performance, which sets us up nicely for a strong race tomorrow. The car has been quick since the start of practice and we've made steady progress through all of the sessions to give the drivers a well-balanced car. This track plays to our strengths and it's satisfying to convert our speed into solid positions on the grid. It's hard to know what sort of race we will get tomorrow, but it could be quite eventful. Whatever happens we will react quickly to optimise the strategy and hopefully bring home a bunch of points."
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