Esteban Ocon has offered a strong assessment of Force India’s potential this season, teasingly saying “you will see” when asked on Wednesday.
Like teammate Sergio Perez, the Frenchman has had limited running this pre-season after the poor conditions last week with his outing on Day 2 just his second over the six days so far.
The Silverstone-based outfit hasn’t exactly been setting the timing screen ablaze either, with Ocon only 12th of 14 drivers, however, it was the long run pace which left the 21-year-old the most upbeat.
“Today was a good day, plenty of mileage under our belt and long runs look promising, not far off Red Bull I think, so we are quite happy,” he said. “I know they [Red Bull] were P1, but you will see.”
His claim does actually counter what his Mexican partner said earlier in the week, with Perez stating Force India was currently not leading the midfield pack as it has the past two seasons. But with 130 laps on the board, Ocon is sure the team is making progress.
“It’s what we needed – a clean day,” he said. “We did most of our programme and it will make us move forward in the future. We understood plenty so there’s plenty to analyse but we are quite happy with today.”
