Pérez: Force India remains close to the top teams

Sergio Pérez displays great optimism as he approaches the 2017 season of F1. The Force India driver, who finished 10th and 11th in the first two practice sessions of the Australian GP, ​​believes he has the chance of achieving even better results than in 2016 when he took 7th place in the Championship with two podiums (in Monaco and Baku in Azerbaijan), while Vijay Mallya's team finished in 4th position.

“We should still be close to the top three teams, commented Sergio Pérez on the official F1 website. In any case, that's my impression after this first day of driving and after seeing the tire choices of our opponents. Friday never brings conclusions, but it gives a first insight. We plan to beat the mid-table teams at the start. A place in the top 8 would be a very good start to the season. »

If Sergio Pérez and his teammate Esteban Ocon can count on the reliability and performance of the Power Unit Mercedes, Force India drivers must be wary of rival teams equipped with 6l turbo/hybrid V1.6s from other F1 engine manufacturers.

“Finishing in the points in every race would be an ideal scenario, recognized Sergio Pérez, but Ferrari will probably perform very well. They may not be at the level of Mercedes, but they clearly have a very competitive Power Unit and their reliability is also interesting. Renault seems to have also progressed with its engine. It will no longer be like in recent years where it was enough to have a Mercedes engine to have a good result. »

Esteban Ocon finished in 16th and 14th place in the first two practice sessions for the Australian GP after suffering brake problems on his Force India VJM10 this morning.