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Esteban Ocon admits that he is proud of himself after his first full year in Formula 1. The Frenchman debuted midway through 2016, after being handed a drive at Manor Racing. In November of last year, Force India confirmed that they had signed Ocon to race alongside Sergio Perez.
Ocon joined the team with hopes of matching the Mexican, and despite a slow start, he managed to get to his level and even beat him towards the end of the year. Ocon finished inside the points on all but two occasions, and is very happy having completed his first full season.
“It was a really quiet race with not a huge amount of things happening," the 22-year-old said of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "The start was the busy moment when I almost got ahead of Hulkenberg, but he was on the racing line and he was able to brake later.
"From there I was running a different strategy compared to Checo and although I was getting closer to him at the end, I just didn’t have enough laps to catch him. It’s nice to end the year with another strong result and I’m really proud of what we have achieved as a team this year. The winter months ahead will involve a lot of training so that I can come back even stronger in 2018."
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Replies (5)
Login to replyajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Except for the clumsiness when racing his teammate (both were guilty), this was an outstanding year. It spoke very well of both Ocon and Perez. Now I just wish someone would buy Force India and give it more funding. It's incredible what those guys have accomplished with a limited budget.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Agree. They might as well be the most efficient team in F1, with best ROI. Now imagine with resources like those of Redbull.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Im pretty sure Force India made some decent profits this year, despite scoring more points than they wanted... (really now, you are actually able to lose out on scoring points... Ooooh, FIA!).
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@CALLE.ITW What is this about losing out on scoring points?
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
The entry fee is based on how many points your drivers score. More points lead to a heftier entry fee. Meanwhile, the price sum your team get as an award is based on the place you achieve in the championships, a set sum for 1st, one for 2nd, etc. Force India's earnings has been secure for quite a while, since they've had a convincing lead to the rest but never had a chance at catching Red Bull. But for every additional point they scored in 2017, they get to pay more to apply for the 2018 season.