The new Mercedes engine is “clearly a gain” for Ocon

Mercedes introduced phase III of its in-house engine into the Ardennes and made it available to its two customer teams, as provided for in the regulations.  

Esteban Ocon received a new copy of each of the six main elements that make up the current V6 hybrids: internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, battery, and electronic control.

The Normand stood out at the forefront from the first free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps by setting the 7th best time on Friday morning. In the afternoon, it was his teammate Sergio Pérez who finished in the honorary rank of “best of the rest” behind the Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull.

« I think we can fight for Q3 and good points in the race, confided Ocon before adding that the new Mercedes engine represented “ clearly a gain, in terms of lap time. It's a good thing to have it ».

After the recent turmoil around the Force India team, which officially became Racing Point Force India on Thursday evening, the Norman admits that “ everyone is more serene » in the team, even if he regrets the loss of 59 points in the Manufacturers' championship.

« It’s a shame because we worked hard to win them. We looked at the rankings and said to ourselves that we could probably get at least 8th place now. We will do everything for it. »

The injection of new money will in any case allow the arrival of developments on the pink single-seaters during the next races.

« From the next round, I think we will have new things, concluded Ocon. This is being done at the factory. We should have interesting improvements over the rest of the season ».