F1 | Force India, Ocon ready to confirm himself in Japan: "We aim to replicate last year's performance"

In the classic press release issued by Force India on its website, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez spoke about the next Japanese Grand Prix, the seventeenth round of this 2018 Formula 1 world championship, underlining how Suzuka is an extremely special track for all the drivers on the grid , especially for the history it contains.

As regards performances, however, the Scuderia led by Lawrance Stroll hopes to replicate the excellent performances of last season, with Esteban Ocon fighting for the third step of the podium for a long time.

Here are the words of Sergio Perez: “Suzuka is one of my favorite circuits. I love its flow and high speeds, especially in the first sector. I think it's one of the best sectors of the entire calendar. It's a great challenge, but it's also a difficult weekend because you have to find the perfect balance to put together a good lap. Note that it's not just the layout that is difficult, as wind can play a key factor in performance."

“The 130R is my favorite curve”, he added. “You get there at more than 300km/h and it's a sharp left turn in seventh gear. It's an incredible feeling. The curve is tackled head-on with the new generation cars given that we have much more aerodynamic load, but we still need to keep our concentration high to avoid making mistakes."

Here are Esteban Ocon's impressions: “All the drivers love Suzuka as its characteristics make it special. There are big corners, a lot of history and it's a very difficult ride to tackle. There are really great curves, but the real highlight is the first sector. They are extremely fun changes of direction to drive, especially in qualifying configuration."
 
“Last year we had a very solid weekend at Suzuka. I ran third for a long time before finishing seventh, so hopefully we have another strong weekend. If we manage to score a similar result this year it would be a great thing.", he added.