Esteban Ocon insists there is "no panic" after a bad start to the season for Force India. The small Silverstone based team finished fourth overall in 2016 and 2017, but now Renault, McLaren and even Haas look set to displace Force India this year.
"I suppose some (fans) are afraid that after Melbourne things will continue to be like that," Ocon told France's Auto Hebdo. "So that there is no misunderstanding, I want to tell everyone that there is no panic. Yes we are behind and there is a lot to do to return to the fight for the top five positions."
"But I'm not worried," the French driver added. "Everything changes very quickly in formula one and our car has great potential for improvement. We learned a lot about the chassis in Australia and we are preparing a lot of new parts -- some of them will be on the car in Bahrain already. Last year we struggled in Melbourne too but we quickly made progress. The season is long," the 21-year-old added.
"Our car is better and faster than its predecessor, but our rivals made more progress. But the key to success is development. We already made a big step forward in comparison to the tests, as it was easier to drive the car in Australia," said Ocon. "We do not believe that we have failed already -- we only have small problems, and believe me, now we are trying to put everything right."
Esteban Ocon: "No panic at struggling Force India"
- Published on 04 Apr 2018 11:38
-
1
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Schumacher Says Verstappen Was Truly Unbelievable at the Nurburgring: "Nobody Else Would Have Dared"Ralf Schumacher watched Max Verstappen's performance at the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring and ran out of ways to de...
21 May 2026 11:20 -
Hamilton Says He Is Very Happy at Ferrari and Pushes Back on Exit RumoursLewis Hamilton is not going anywhere. The seven-time world champion has pushed back directly on the reports suggestin...
21 May 2026 15:25 -
Herbert Praises the Verstappen-Lambiase Partnership as One of the Greatest in Modern F1Johnny Herbert has watched a lot of driver-engineer relationships over the course of a career that has included years...
21 May 2026 12:21 -
Piquet Jr Fears for Russell: "This Could Be the Beginning of the End"Nelson Piquet Jr has watched the first four races of the Mercedes internal battle and come away worried about George ...
21 May 2026 14:24 -
Schumacher Warns Albon He Needs to Perform or Williams Will Look ElsewhereAlexander Albon is under pressure at Williams and the person making that point most directly this week is Ralf Schuma...
21 May 2026 13:23
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Driver profile
- Team Haas F1
- Points 485
- Podiums 4
- Grand Prix 184
- Country FR
- Date of b. Sep 17 1996 (29)
- Place of b. Évreux, FR
- Weight 66 kg
- Length 1.86 m
- 62,490 comments on Haas F1
2 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Esteban Ocon
Team profile
- Team name Force India
- Base Silverstone, India
- Sergio Perez 11
- Sergio Perez 11
- Nico Hülkenberg 12
- Adrian Sutil 14
- Adrian Sutil 15
- Lance Stroll 18
- Adrian Sutil 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Esteban Ocon 31
- 96,021 comments on Force India
- 8 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Force India
Replies (1)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
*Insert nothing to see here gif with burning house in the background*