Force India team owner Vijay Mallya hopes Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon learnt lessons from their collision during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The two drivers collided exiting Turn 2 in the scramble for positions after the second Safety Car period, taking the Mexican eventually out of the race and dropping the Mercedes junior driver down the order with a puncture before recovering to claim sixth.
A podium was certainly possible before their coming together and it marked the second consecutive race that the two drivers had harmed each other’s result following the decision not to impose team orders to benefit Ocon in Canada.
Looking back at the race, Mallya admitted: “I can’t remember a Grand Prix creating such a buzz and so many talking points as the race we saw in Baku. We certainly played our part in a dramatic race and it’s still frustrating to ponder what might have been had things played out differently.
“Since Baku, we’ve had some conversations internally and reminded our drivers that the team must always come first,” he added.
“It’s never acceptable for teammates to make contact with each other and it certainly cost us points in Baku.
“However, the events of Azerbaijan won’t change our approach. Our drivers can race freely and I’m sure they have learned some valuable lessons. We’ve given them a competitive car and I know they are mature enough to work together for the good of the team.”
Amid the craziness and despite the collision, Force India still sit 42 points clear of the rest of the midfield in fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, with Williams the only team behind them to score more points thanks to Lance Stroll’s impressive run to third in Baku.
And now the emphasis is on continuing what has been a remarkable year so far with double points finishes at six of the eight races so far.
“This weekend in Austria will be another opportunity to show the speed of the VJM10 and continue our run of points finishes,” Mallya commented.
“We need to keep up our momentum and scoring points consistently to maintain our fourth place in the championship. There is no room for complacency and we will keep pushing and trying to maximise every race.”
