09/07/2017
NEWS STORY
Sahara Force India scored ten points in today's Austrian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez raced to seventh place ahead of Esteban Ocon in eighth place.
Sergio Perez: "Finishing seventh is a great result for the team and a nice reward considering how difficult this weekend has been for us. We struggled in practice, but come qualifying and the race we were quite strong and we came home with some good points. It wasn't the easiest of races for me. I made a good start, but I lost places to both Esteban and Lewis [Hamilton] at turn one. Thankfully I was able to pass them both at turn three and regain my starting position. I suffered from a lot of front graining in my first stint, but after the pit stop I was able to settle down into a rhythm, even though it wasn't enough to attack Grosjean. We had very similar pace to him so we couldn't get any closer. It has been a difficult weekend, but we recovered well and we can be happy with the outcome. Now our focus shifts to Silverstone. I really can't wait to try these 2017 cars on the fastest track on the calendar."
Esteban Ocon: "I'm pleased with the points we've scored today and it was a strong race for the team. I made a good start and gained a couple of positions, but I was behind Lewis [Hamilton] going into turn three and got squeezed, which meant I had to ease off and lost momentum. Then it was just a case of keeping my head down and being consistent with my laptimes. I don't think we went the right way with the strategy because I lost a lot of time to Massa after my stop and we just need to review things and see if we could have done anything differently. It's not been the easiest of weekends for us, but we've worked hard and it's satisfying to come away with good points even when things are not going perfectly. I think we showed our strength as a team."
Robert Fernley: "Another double points finish is just what we needed today. The team did an excellent job to convert our strong qualifying into solid points and we leave Austria feeling pretty satisfied with our performance. It was a relatively calm race from the pit wall with no significant dramas. Both drivers kept out of trouble on lap one and as the race settled down we were able to hold station with competitive race pace. These ten points consolidate our fourth place in the championship as we approach the midway point of the season."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spielberg, here.