Force India had a very strong outing in Sunday afternoon's Japanese Grand Prix with another double points finish for the Silverstone based squad.
At the end of the day they had the fourth quickest car yet again and took the fight to the teams ahead of them. Finishing sixth and seventh with both Mercedes, both Red Bulls and the sole remaining Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen the only cars to finish ahead of them.
Esteban Ocon's opening lap was magnificent as he muscled his way ahead of Daniel Ricciardo ย and ran as high as third in the early stages of the race. Sergio Perez pretty much shadowed the Frenchman all afternoon and, once the pit stops were completed, he was asked to hold station and bring home the points.
He was heard over the radio several times asking if he could pass as he believed Esteban was slower, however, he understood where they were coming from and followed team orders to bring the car home in 7th.
โI am very happy for the team with this great result, which was definitely the maximum we could achieve today. It was a relatively easy race: we had a strong qualifying session and we had good race pace, so we spent a lot of time on our own,โ he said. โI felt I was quicker than Esteban in the second stint and I had an opportunity to overtake him at the final restart, but we followed the team's instructions.โ
โWe knew this would be the case so it wasn't a surprise, and swapping us wouldn't have made a difference in terms of points for the team, so I understand the team's perspective. In the end, Esteban did a great job during the whole weekend. The last two races have been really strong for us and I am very pleased with the results we have achieved.โ
โThe โFuerza Mexico' message on the podium before the race meant a lot to me and I'd like to say โthank you' to everyone in the paddock. The support my country has received in the last few weeks has been incredible and I hope we can keep helping, especially as we get ready for the race in Mexico later this month.โ
