Australian GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Both Force India drivers made it to Q2 but no further. Perez was unlucky, demoted to P11 in the dying seconds of Q2 by Sainz. With free tyre choice for the race start, points are still a good possibility for the Mexican. Ocon's 14th was a fair result considering he has never previously raced at this circuit.

Sergio Perez, 11th, 1:25.081

“It’s disappointing to miss out on the top ten by such a small margin – less than a tenth of a second. However, P11 is not a bad starting position and we can certainly race for good points. All the teams in the midfield seem to be very close to each other in terms of performance and there are going to be very close battles in the race. Tyre degradation is very low and finding the right rhythm during the race will be a challenge. Overtaking is difficult here, especially with these very wide cars, but I will fight hard tomorrow. I am determined to start the season well.”

Esteban Ocon, 14th, 1:25.568

“I’ve been on the learning curve this week in Melbourne and I’m not feeling particularly satisfied with today’s qualifying session. Yes, it’s the first time I’ve reached Q2, but there is more potential in the car. I learned a huge amount during the session and despite being far away from Sergio in Q1, I was much closer in Q2. Unfortunately I made a small mistake on my final run, so I missed the chance to be higher up the grid. We saw today just how close the midfield fight is going to be this year because even small margins can make a huge difference. On the positive side, we improved the car during qualifying; we improved our procedures and we’ve learned things that will help us going forward. I go into tomorrow’s race believing there is a good opportunity to fight for points. The first challenge will be the new start procedures, which could really mix things up on lap one. I’m excited for tomorrow and ready for my first race in Melbourne!”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal

“The potential was certainly there for us to make Q3, but Sergio didn’t have the cleanest lap during his final run of Q2 and he missed the top ten by a whisker. Esteban is still finding his feet with the team and is on a very steep learning curve. He’s taken a very mature approach so far and is gradually building his confidence and speed with this car. He made good progress during the session and he knows there is more to come. It’s a long race tomorrow so let’s see what happens. Scoring points with both cars remains the objective.”

Formula1.com

Top eight Force India’s target for Melbourne - Perez Q&A

Only drivers from Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari finished ahead of Sergio Perez in the standings last year. So where does the Force India star go from there? We caught up with Perez for an exclusive chat in Australia...

Q: Checo, the new Force India has a cool livery - a bit unusual, but cool. What was your first thought when you saw it?

Sergio Perez: In real life I saw it for the first time yesterday - but of course I had seen images before - and let’s say it looks a bit different, that is for sure. With this aggressive new design that the cars have now, it just looks amazing. I am very happy with my pink car!

Q: It already has a nickname: the Pink Panther…

SP: …and I hope it is as quick as a panther! (Laughs) 

Q: 2016 was an exceptional year for Force India: P4 in the constructors’ standing - with you the ‘best of the rest’ behind the drivers from the three big teams. Do you see yourselves defending these positions this season?

SP: Definitely. And believe me, we are not only here to defend but to move up. Of course it is difficult competing against the best three teams as they have a lot more resources, but I believe that we have a huge potential to do well again this year as this new generation of cars will be developed massively over the season - and we’ve always been punching above our weight towards the end.

Q: What about you? You jumped two places in the driver standings last year…

SP: … and, of course, I want to move up even more. Going back is not really an option for me. But to make that happen I need a good car. So right now what I can do is enjoy driving my car and give my one hundred percent. 

Q: From the Barcelona tests we’ve seen that Force India were right in the midfield - not bad, but not exceptional either. What will we see this weekend?

SP: I think that we’re again pretty close to the top three teams. I think at least that’s what my impression was after today’s running - and after I’ve seen the tyre choice of the frontrunners today. Of course Friday is never really conclusive, but it’s a hint. But we will also be fighting with the midfield pack and hopefully we will beat them right away from this weekend on. (Laughs) 

Q: When it came to long runs at the tests, the Mercedes-powered teams clearly had an advantage, as this engine seems to beat any other on reliability. Is that what you are banking on? That if you don’t do anything stupid you could be in the points at every race?

SP: Ha, of course that would be the best scenario. But I think that Ferrari will be very strong - probably right now they are not at the very same level as Mercedes, but certainly they now have a super power unit and also their reliability looks pretty strong. Renault also seem to have improved their engine. So it’s not like in the past years: you had a Mercedes engine so you did well. It isn’t that easy any more. So we also have to focus on the car, the chassis. 

Q: The 2016 result was obviously good news for Force India in terms of prize money. Does it show in the car that there were more funds available for development?

SP: Ha, more money is always good, as doing better also gets you more sponsors on board. Of course you can try more on the development side when the financial situation is not so tense. We are probably not where we want to be development-wise, but my guess is that’s only a matter of time.

Q: With Esteban Ocon you have a new team mate - a near rookie, which means that you are the number-one driver now. Do any special expectations come with this situation?

SP: For me it doesn’t really change anything. I delivered the most points last year - and I guess it will not be different this year. At least this is my target, because being the leader only on paper means nothing. Because if Esteban beats me the team will probably rethink the situation. Yes, I think Esteban will push me hard - and will score points for the team. Sure he has difficult shoes to fill by replacing Hulkenberg, but I consider him a strong and intelligent driver. 

Q: Isn’t it reality that you will have to score even more points this season for the team to keep P4?

SP: My gut feeling is that we will finish in very good positions at a couple of races - then the points will come automatically… (Laughs) 

Q: P7 in the driver standings in 2016 - still some way to go to reach your goal of winning the title. Is that still a box you think you can tick one day?

SP: Definitely. That is the only motivation why I am in Formula One. 

Q: How do you see your route to this title? A number of driver contracts at top teams run out at the end of this season…

SP: To be champion you have to be in the right car in the right moment and that is also down to luck. So I hope I will have a great season with Force India and a great opportunity afterwards.

Q: The foundation of a great opportunity is laid this weekend…

SP: …and if I could finish in the top eight that would be a great start to my season.

Formula1.com

Australian GP - Friday Practice Force India Quotes

Perez had the troublefree day he was looking for, while Ocon recovered in the afternoon after losing time with a brake problem in the morning...

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:26.276, P10; FP2: 1:25.591, P11

“It’s always important to start the year with a trouble-free day and cover lots of miles. As usual in Melbourne, the track was very green during the first session and evolved quite a lot for the second session. We tried pretty much all the tyre compounds and we have the data we need to make improvements tonight. I think there are a few areas where we can find performance and we know where we need to focus our energy.”

Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:27.656, P16; FP2: 1:26.145, P13

“I didn’t have the best start to the day with a brake issue causing a delayed start to my running, but the afternoon was easier and I managed to find a better rhythm. The priority tonight is the usual job of exploring where we need to make changes; where we can find some gains, and where I can improve too. Hopefully we can make a step forward during final practice to be ready for qualifying.”

Robert Fernley, deputy team principal

“As Fridays go, it was a fairly routine start to the 2017 season with a brake system problem on Esteban’s car the only significant issue at the start of FP1. Fortunately we resolved that quite quickly allowing Esteban to get on with learning the track.

“The VJM10 has been behaving as we expected from a set-up perspective, which allowed us to push on with understanding the various tyre compounds and seeing how they perform in these conditions compared to what we saw during pre-season testing. All the information we collected today will determine our approach for the rest of the weekend.

“Sergio’s programme was straightforward and Esteban took a mature approach to learning quite a difficult track. We split some test items - aero and mechanical - between the two cars to make comparisons and that will help our decision-making tonight.”

Formula1.com 

Force India says top three out of reach

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya's hopes of a top three finish in the 2017 Formula 1 constructors' championship have already been dashed, reckons his deputy Bob Fernley.

After Force India took a best-yet finish of fourth in the 2016 F1 teams' standings, Mallya declared at the launch of its new VJM10 that breaking into the top three was "certainly going to be our objective" as the team "will always dream big".

But Fernley admitted pre-season testing had already suggested Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull were out of reach.

"Ferrari have come out of the blocks much better than I thought," he said.

"As a result of that, I think it has also dragged Haas up a little bit from where we thought they would be.

"I think Renault have gone a good job, better than we thought they would, and McLaren are worse than we thought they would be.

"Obviously our primary aim is to retain that fourth place, so we always assumed that the top three would be unobtainable unless one of them made a mistake - and they haven't.

"So that solves that problem."

Fernley reckons the gap from Force India to the frontrunners is around 1.5 seconds at the moment, and he fears it is likely to increase as the season progresses.

"It is just the ability of those top teams to spend," he said.

"There is no way anybody else below them can match it.

"Probably McLaren would have an opportunity to do that, but without the power unit they are obviously lost."

Though Force India was relatively low key in pre-season testing, Fernley said the team was satisfied.

"The performance is where we thought it would be really," he said.

"We could do with a little bit more on the qualifying trim.

"It is not that far off and is going to be very close between the Renault, Toro Rosso and the Williams/Force India - with Williams having slight advantage at the moment.

"Race pace-wise I think it is maybe a different picture, and that is the area we are working on."

www.Autosport.com

Australian GP - Force India Preview

Sergio Perez
“The first race of the year is always good fun. We’ve had a long winter to recharge the batteries, but now I just want to go racing again. Australia is the best place to start the season: it’s a great country and I really enjoy going there. There is so much to do in Melbourne and it’s a fun weekend, even if it’s busier than some of the other races.
“It’s important not to get distracted: we want to start well and get back into the race weekend rhythm, and get on with our work. The track itself is quite enjoyable and it’s a challenge to drive because it’s almost a street circuit. It starts the weekend very green and as you go on, you get more grip and more confidence in your new car.
“I am confident we can do well and score points from the first race: Australia is a place where anything can happen and we have seen some very unpredictable races there in the past. You never know what opportunities turn up in a race so you have to be ready at all times to take them.”

Esteban Ocon
“I am feeling great after a long winter and I’m very excited to go to Melbourne. It will be the first time racing at Albert Park for me, so I do not really know the track, but last year I went there and I liked what I could see. It’s a proper old-school track and those are the sorts of circuit I really enjoy. Of course it’s not easy when you don’t know the track in advance, so it’s especially important to learn quickly in the Friday sessions and listen to the feedback from the engineers - whether it’s where I can be faster or where we can make the car quicker. I think I have all the tools and all the people around me to do that.
“Joining this team has gone very smoothly from my perspective. The team welcomed me and made me feel at ease straight away. I feel very comfortable about the way we work and I feel this will help me give my best in Australia.
“I think we did a good job as a team during winter testing and I also feel confident because of all the simulator work we did over the winter. We continue to push on the simulator and I was at the factory a few days ago doing the final preparation for Melbourne. I was very open to the team – I told them I’d be available at HQ as much as they needed me over the winter and I feel satisfied with the work we’ve done together so far. I think we’re on track to extract everything we can from the car, which is our objective. We’ll go out and do the best we can and see where we are.”

Vijay Mallya, team principal
“I always say that Melbourne is a great place to start the season and this year there is so much to be excited about with the new generation of cars making their race debut. It’s interesting for the teams, the media and most importantly, the fans. Let’s hope we put on a great show to kick off the season in style.
“We will race in our new colours for the first time in Melbourne. BWT have given us a very exciting livery and they have generated a huge buzz among the media and fans. The VJM10 looks stunning and it’s great to see such a positive reaction on social media.
“As for our expectations this weekend, it’s still not easy to make predictions – even after eight days of testing in Barcelona. Qualifying on Saturday will give us our first indication of the true pecking order. Testing taught us lots of things and we’ve identified where we can improve, which is exactly why we go testing. We’ve addressed most of those things in time for Melbourne and we’re in good shape.
“The VJM10 is largely reliable and clocked up 785 laps in testing, and we took encouragement from our long run pace. We’ve got to approach the early races believing we can pick up where we left off last year. We arrive in Melbourne feeling optimistic and confident that scoring points is a realistic objective.”

Formula1.com 
 

Points at every race - Esteban Ocon reveals his 2017 target

In his nine races with Manor last year Esteban Ocon’s best finish was a 12th place. This season he is aiming to score points at every Grand Prix with Force India. A realistic expectation? Given the team’s performance last year, and how well the Frenchman has already integrated himself, perhaps not. We caught up with Ocon for an exclusive chat about his rise from the rear of the grid to potential top-ten regular…

Q: Esteban, of the 2017 rookies - or in your case, near rookie - you are arguably the one who’s already hit the jackpot, driving for the team that finished fourth last season. Happy?
Esteban Ocon: I am very happy. Starting my F1 career with Manor was already something great, and then at the end of the 2016 season I got that chance from Force India. That means an amazing opportunity for me: as a young driver to join a successful team; and alongside Checo (Sergio) Perez, who is very experienced. That is simply fantastic. 

Q: Force India have had huge stability for many years in terms of engineers and drivers. Now you are the new kid on the block who has to integrate. How much has that already happened?
EO: I had a good preparation with them over the winter. We had two months to prepare for the season, so I did a lot of training and in between did some simulator work and some briefing with the team. I met everyone in the team - everybody, also including the aero department, to find out who was doing what and is responsible for what. I have to confess I don’t know all the names now as it is a bigger team than Manor, but I am working hard on it! (Laughs)
Q: Your team mate Sergio Perez was the ‘best of the rest’ after the drivers from the three big teams last year, so he’s a real benchmark for you. How do you see yourself comparing?
EO: He had an awesome season last year, yes. He pulled the team up. It was very impressive to see what he did. Every year Force India is gaining position, so I am looking forward to working with him. I have learnt a lot from him already at the two tests - but testing is one thing: it’s as soon as we arrive at the first race that I want to challenge him! (Laughs)
Q: How is the cooperation right now?
EO: We go through data, we discuss our findings from every session. His feedback is really great.
Q: Force India’s fourth place last year was a lot about both drivers delivering. What expectations does the team have of you? Does the ‘near rookie’ status buy you any leeway?
EO: I have to deliver straight away. The team wants me to replace Nico (Hulkenberg) - and that includes results. So no time to get up to speed - I have to get up to speed straight away. Hence the good preparation with the team over the winter. In the end results translate into more funds - and that means a better, faster car. It is that simple.
Q: You joined the grid midway through last season with a team who were struggling to keep up. How important were those few races for your learning curve, despite all the difficulties?
EO: Extremely important. Manor was really great, because they were pushing so hard as it meant nothing less than their survival. With the budget they had they worked extremely well - very professional. For me it meant that I learned all the aspects of Formula One in a crash course. I am really sad that Manor is no longer on the grid.

Q: Your team mate at Manor was Pascal Wehrlein. You ended up at Force India, fourth last season, and he has joined Sauber, who finished 10th. Are you relieved? It seems you got the better end of the deal…
EO: I cannot say anything in that respect. Force India chose me. That’s all there is to it. I am happy for Pascal that he got himself a seat too.
Q: What is the toughest thing to come to terms with regarding this year’s car? On one day of testing you did more than two race distances…
EO: Oh, it was fantastic to do 142 laps after I was only able to do 80 laps in the first week. We did everything - every aspect from tyres, to aerodynamics to performance runs.
Q: Sounds like you got carried away…
EO: Yes, at one point you lose the feeling for time. At Barcelona’s pit-lane exit there is that tower that shows the positions in the race and has a clock on top - and when I looked up it was, ‘Wow - I’ve already been in the car for hours.’ I didn’t notice that time was flying so fast. But the next day I got some reminders from my neck! (Laughs)
Q: Formula One drivers are admired and seen as ‘cool dudes’. What are you doing to live up to the fans’ expectations?
EO: Ha, being an F1 driver already qualifies you as a ‘cool dude’ I would say. Outside the paddock I am a pretty normal kid - who does a lot of training.
Q: Testing is one thing, but Australia will be the reality check. What kind of reality will it be for you?
EO: My personal target would be to score points at every race. That would be pretty cool. Melbourne is the place where everybody unleashes his machine, so we will see what the reality check is. I have a super feeling about the VJM10. The balance is right and the Mercedes engine is simply the best, also when it comes to reliability. So let’s see if I can trust my feelings.

Formula1.com

SAHARA FORCE INDIA SIGNS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH BWT

The VJM10 will race in pink, magenta and silver to mark the beginning of a long-term relationship with the Austrian-headquartered water brand. The new colours will make their debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The partnership represents BWT’s first involvement in Formula One as the brand takes advantage of the sport’s global footprint to promote its unique water treatment products, such as the BWT Magnesium Mineralizer. BWT’s presence is also reinforced with the BWT pink helmets of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon to complement the unique BWT pink car.

Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director of Sahara Force India: “The arrival of BWT in Formula One is huge news and represents one of the most significant partnerships in our ten year history. It’s a sign of how far we have come as a team with our strong results and completes a solid commercial performance over the winter. For 2017 our cars will sport a vibrant new colour scheme with a smart matte finish. Changing the colour of our cars is an indication of the strength of this new partnership and a real statement of intent from BWT as they begin their relationship with the sport of Formula One.”

BWT CEO Andreas Weißenbacher, on BWT’s decision to sponsor a Formula 1 team, says: “The collaboration with Sahara Force India is an important part of our brand-globalisation strategy and will dynamically increase awareness of our brand around the world. We share with Formula 1 –  the premier league of motor sport –  the passion we show every day in trying to achieve the best possible standards for our elixir of life, H2O, enabling us to meet the demanding requirements for quality, health, safety and hygiene and drive the development of new technologies.”

About BWT

The Best Water Technology Group (BWT) is Europe‘s leading water technology company. BWT’s 3,300 employees aim to supply private, industrial, business, hotel and public sector customers with innovative, economical and ecological technologies that guarantee maximum safety, hygiene and health in the daily use of water – the precious elixir of life. BWT provides state-of-the-art water treatment technologies and services for drinking water, pharmaceutical water, process water, heating water, boiler water, cooling water, water for air-conditioning systems and water for swimming pools. Our Research & Development teams use the latest methods developed to work on new processes and materials to create products that are both ecological and economical. A key development issue is a reduction in the products’ consumption of operating resources and energy to minimise CO2 emissions. www.bwt-group.com  

Forceindiaf1.com

BARCELONA TEST REPORT, 10 MARCH 2017

Chassis: VJM10-02
Laps: 128 laps
Mileage: 596km
Best lap: 1:20.116 (P7)

Sergio Perez: “I think we are well prepared for Melbourne. We’ve been reliable this week and hit our targets in a lot of areas – especially in terms of getting miles on the car. We’ve learned a huge amount and understood where we can improve. Today was my busiest day in the car so far doing a bit of everything – short runs, long runs and set-up work to understand where we can find more performance from this car. Covering 128 laps is a positive way to end our pre-season and I’m really looking forward to Melbourne.”

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Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Overall, it has been a successful second week of testing. We showed good reliability and were able to complete the vast majority of a very ambitious test programme. This leaves us with a good understanding of the VJM10 and the 2017 tyres. Testing slightly later in the year resulted in more representative track temperatures and that has been helpful. Today we followed a similar programme to yesterday, with performance running in the morning and long runs in the afternoon, to ensure that Sergio is fully prepared for Melbourne. There’s a lot of data for us to digest and we will be working hard between now and Melbourne to maximise what we have for the first few races of the year. To design a completely new car and run it as successfully as we did in these two weeks with just some minor teething problems is a big achievement for our team and we’re confident we are ready for the season.”

Forceindiaf1.com

BARCELONA TEST REPORT, 9 MARCH 2017

Chassis: VJM10-02
Laps: 137 laps
Mileage: 638km
Best lap: 1:20.161 (P3)

Esteban Ocon: “It has been a big day in the car and I am really happy with what we achieved. We did some shorter runs in the morning and longer stints in the afternoon, and by the end of the day I was happy with how the car felt. I was satisfied with our pace and I think we’ve made really good progress with understanding the VJM10. The next time I will be in the car is in Melbourne and I am really excited about the start of the season. It’s been a busy winter with lots of hard work behind the scenes and now I just want to go racing!”

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Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “We were able to make the most of our good reliability and complete a comprehensive test programme. Our understanding of the VJM10 is getting better and we are still making good progress with the car. It was Esteban’s final day of driving before Melbourne, so we were able to continue practicing with the procedural tasks he will need during race weekends. He has settled in the team really well, building a good working relationship with the trackside team and everyone back at base. We feel we have prepared him as well as we could for Australia: we had prepared a plan for him during the winter and we have ticked all the boxes. The plan for the final day of testing is more of the same to complete Sergio’s preparations for Melbourne too.”

 Forceindiaf1.com

BARCELONA TEST REPORT, 8 MARCH 2017

Chassis: VJM10-02
Laps: 100 laps
Mileage: 466km
Best lap: 1:21.297 (P8)

Sergio Perez: “It’s good to reach 100 laps and learn more about the car, but it was quite a disrupted day with the red flags and it meant we didn’t manage to complete the full programme. It was important to do the long runs this afternoon and get a feel for the performance of the tyres. The low degradation makes them more fun to drive – you still have to manage them but you can push more than in previous years. With a new car, it’s important to get to know all the strengths and weaknesses, and work on the latter, so that’s the focus of the team. With every lap we learn something new and it helps us take a step forward. We now need to make the most of the final couple of days before Melbourne, but I still feel optimistic.”

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Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Another busy programme with Sergio clocking up 100 laps. The day started with an aero programme before we focussed on performance work and experimented with set-up options to improve the car’s balance. We ran on several different tyre compounds to make performance comparisons and then ended the day with some long runs. Esteban is back in the car tomorrow for his final day of work before Melbourne.”

Forceindiaf1.com

BARCELONA TEST REPORT, 7 MARCH 2017

Chassis: VJM10-02
Laps: 142 laps
Mileage: 661km
Best lap: 1:21.347 (P6)

Esteban Ocon: “I am very happy with our work today. To complete more than 140 laps without issues is a good effort and allowed us to cover a lot of ground. We did some long stints and also some performance runs, which were very interesting: we kept working on both the chassis and the tyres, but we managed to include aero and engine work too. I can see we are making progress compared to last week: every time we go out we get to try new solutions and I feel we are moving in the right direction.”

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Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “It’s been a productive day and we managed to complete our entire run plan. We covered 142 laps and Esteban didn’t put a foot wrong all day. We definitely learnt a lot and this is something that will help us for the rest of the week. Our programme was varied: we continued our correlation work for the mapping of the car and did further work on the 2017 tyres. Today was also a good occasion to work with Esteban on some of our race weekend procedures: Melbourne is only one day in the car away for him, effectively, so it was crucial to make the most of his time in the car. Every lap we do helps us progress on what is a very steep learning curve with the new cars. We feel the analysis of the data from last week has set us in the right direction and we are aiming to continue on this path for the remainder of the week.”

Forceindiaf1.com

Barcelona Test Report, 2 March 2017

Sergio Perez: “It was a positive week and I think we made a good step forward with understanding the VJM10 and finding the limit of the tyres. I feel more confident in the car; I have learnt a huge amount and I think my preparation is going to plan. We can be pleased with this last day of testing: we covered a lot of ground and we found some more performance. Hopefully next week we can be in  even better shape. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’m optimistic for Melbourne already.” 

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Getting a new car on track is the end result of a long process, one that took the hard work of hundreds of people back at the factory and trackside. We are happy with how this week has gone and I want to say a big ‘thank you’ for the incredible efforts of everyone here in Barcelona and in our facilities in Silverstone and Brackley. We have been able to build up good mileage and iron out some of the inevitable teething problems that you get with a new car. We are confident we have made some important steps forward in understanding the VJM10 and the new Pirelli tyres, and we are looking forward to next week’s test, when we will focus more on performance and race simulations.”

Forceindiaf1.com

Barcelona Test Report, 1 March 2017

Alfonso Celis: “It was a busy day in which we managed to complete nearly everything in our plan. These cars are completely different and I enjoyed my first experience of the new regulations – you can really feel the step up in performance. It took me a bit of time to get used to the car and the conditions, and the track had very low grip early on.  I did a lot of aero passes in the morning and then we focussed on understanding the tyres in the afternoon. The most important objective of the day was to give the team as much data as possible so these 71 laps will hopefully be very useful for better understanding this car.” 


Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Another solid day of work in Barcelona as Alfonso drove the VJM10 for the first time. Track temperatures were very low for the first couple of hours so we focussed on an aero mapping with various instruments fitted to the side of the car. We made a floor change during the lunch hour and worked through a set-up programme in the afternoon. Alfonso ran on several different tyre compounds - ultrasoft, supersoft and soft – giving us feedback and data on the new 2017 tyres.”

Forceindiaf1.com

Barcelona Test Report, 28 February 2017

Esteban Ocon: “A very enjoyable first day in the VJM10. It’s very early days, of course, but the initial feelings are positive and we found a good direction for setting up the car. The only issue was an oil leak just before lunch, but it didn’t cost us much track time and I’m satisfied with the number of laps we covered. I hope we will make similar progress tomorrow and the day after. This was my first experience of the new generation cars and I have to say they are proper beasts: the high-speed corners are very impressive and there are big gains in the low-speed corners so it’s a good step forward.” 

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “It was a much smoother day than yesterday with good reliability allowing us to cover 86 laps with Esteban. We finished off the systems checks this morning as Esteban became comfortable with the new car and then moved straight into the aero programme, which we had started yesterday with Sergio. Esteban’s feedback led us in a good direction with rebalancing the car and he also ran on a variety of tyre compounds including supersoft, soft and medium. I’m pleased we managed to exceed our target lap count and accrued so much data because the learning curve is so steep in these early days. We will continue the programme tomorrow with Alfonso Celis in the VJM10.”

Forceindiaf1.com

Barcelona Test Report, 27 February 2017

Sergio Perez: “It was a day of two halves. The morning was very productive: we managed to do a lot of what we had planned and we tried some different set-up options and tyre compounds. Things were looking quite positive throughout the morning and we had the chance to learn a lot from our new car. Unfortunately we didn’t run in the afternoon as a precaution and that cost us some track time. Hopefully tomorrow we can make up the lost ground with Esteban in the car: with a solid day, we can complete the rest of our programme and move forward with the plan.” 

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “The morning went largely to plan as the VJM10 completed its first few laps. We built up the mileage on the car, doing short runs at first and then increasing the lap count. This allowed us to complete the basic systems checks on the car. We also started some aero mapping and got a useful first understanding of the 2017 tyres. Our work was cut short with an exhaust issue and we ended the day early as a precautionary measure. We are looking forward to tomorrow, when Esteban is in the car for his first experience of the VJM10.”

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