Esteban Ocon is aiming to give Racing Point Force India its first haul of points at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix following his impressive display during qualifying. The team made the best of the changing conditions on-track, leaving them to lock out the second row.
Ocon got the better of his teammate Sergio Perez, and will line-up in P3. The result comes after a difficult period for the Silverstone-based outfit, who arrived in Belgium fearing that they may not be able to take part in the weekend.
However, an emergency meeting at Spa confirmed it as a brand new entry following a change of ownership. Starting this weekend with zero points, Ocon is now focusing on getting the job done for his team.
"Well what I knew is that definitely when it’s damp conditions like this, you have an opportunity and you have something to do,” said Ocon. “It’s always closer between the cars when the conditions are like that.
“Today we maximised the potential of our car. Last time it rained I was also starting third, so it's the second time it rains and I'm starting third, so it's a fantastic result," he continued.
“It’s great to perform like this after a difficult time for Force India. That’s totally behind now. We are focusing on this weekend. The car has been strong even in the dry this weekend. Hopefully we'll get a great result tomorrow.”
However, Ocon's best ever qualifying result came with the suggestions that this will be his last weekend with Force India, as Lance Stroll is set to take his seat before the Italian Grand Prix next week. Ocon states that he can't do anything more other than perform to the best of his ability.
“Well you know for sure, my future is not done at the moment,” said Ocon.“I don’t know where I will race next year or what I will do. As I said, the only thing I can do is to do well on-track, to focus, do the same job as before, try to do the best, and if you do a strong job in Formula 1, the teams, they can't skip you. They have to have you. That's what I'm trying to do.”
Fergal Walsh
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