Force India completed the Formula 1 pre-season tests with more than 160 laps, completed by Esteban Ocon on the last day of practice. The French driver commented it was another solid day and he feels confident heading to Melbourne for the first 2018 Grand prix.
“It was another solid day and I feel quite confident heading to Melbourne. To complete more than 160 laps on the final day is a good achievement and ends a really solid week of work”, Ocon continued.
“We tried all our race weekend procedures today and went through the various processes we will need in Australia. We ran on several different tyre compounds and then concentrated on long runs in the afternoon. I think we have a good idea of where we are but the real confirmation will come in Melbourne. It has been quite a long time since the last race in Abu Dhabi and I am itching to go racing again. I am really looking forward to arriving in Australia.”
Last day of test before the 1st GP done with 163 laps, now we are ready to race?! #EO31 #OneGoal
163 tours fait pour le dernier jour de test avant le 1er GP, maintenant nous sommes prêt pour la course !? pic.twitter.com/em9OFBy5em— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) March 9, 2018
Force India completed the Formula 1 pre-season tests with more than 160 laps, completed by Esteban Ocon on the last day of practice
Chief race engineer Tom McCullough also said it was a productive day at the tests’ end.
“Our programme was very similar to what we did [on Thursday], making sure we completed all our test items and reviewing all race weekend procedures with Esteban. The track conditions were possibly the best we’ve had over the last two weeks, so the significant amount of data we gathered will be very useful to our engineers”, McCullough explained.
“We can look back at these two weeks feeling pretty satisfied. Despite the time lost because of the weather last week, we were able to complete our ambitious programme and made good progress in understanding the VJM11. The reliability of our car was one of the highlights of testing: we were able to run solidly without any significant issues and, for a new car, this is a remarkable achievement. The whole team did a great job and we can now switch our focus to Melbourne.”
Afternoon action well and truly underway. @OconEsteban returns to track (he actually did it a bit quicker than that). #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/VEFjFG28ZS
— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) March 9, 2018
