Esteban Ocon believes his former team, now named Racing Point, can close the gap to the top three teams in the upcoming season.
The Frenchman played a key role in helping what was Force India finish fourth in the Constructors’ standings in 2017 and the Silverstone-based outfit would have finished fifth in 2018 had their points not been wiped in that championship after their summer takeover.
Those achievements are remarkable considering the lack of resources the team and now, with Lawrence Stroll’s fortune backing them up, Ocon only sees an upward trend going forward.
“It is a massive gap to fill but they will make a step forward, that’s for sure,” the 22-year-old Mercedes junior told Autosport.
“Resources have always been the issue, and there will be less of this issue next year. I believe they will be strong contenders.”
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The disappointment for Ocon is he won’t be there to take advantage, with his seat given to Lance Stroll who moves across from Williams, however, the productivity and motivation of what was then Force India will never leave Esteban.
“I was very impressed, as I was in 2017, just [by] the professionalism of this team and the motivation they have for results,” he explained. “That’s probably the biggest thing.
“One example, they flew back from Mexico and arrived at like 2am in the UK and the following morning I was there, at 8am, plus the jet lag, and we were working on the sim.
“Everyone was destroyed, I was as well, but we were already working. That’s why we’re so competitive on-track, even when we don’t have the resources.
“Probably with the resources it’s going to be a lot easier for them.”
