Sahara Force India scored 22 points in Sunday afternoon's Spanish Grand Prix as Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon raced to superb fourth and fifth places. Those very valuable 22 world championship points strengthen the team's hold on fourth place in the constructors championship and continue their 100% points-scoring record in every race this season.
This result sees them as the only team to have achieved this record in 2017 and that's a huge credit to the hard work of the race team and all the members back at their Silverstone factory.
Of course a lot of the credit goes to the drivers, who kept their heads and drove superbly throughout the 66 lap event. They kept their noses clean and managed their pace to bring both cars home.
“It has been an incredible day for us and I'm very proud of our team and the job we have done all weekend,” Sergio said. “Everything worked out for us and we have come away with some big points. We made the most of the opportunities that came up and we were there when it mattered to pick up the points. I didn't make the best start, but I stayed out of trouble and made it safely around the first lap.”
“Then I kept my head down, managed my speed and controlled the race to bring the car home. The only small issue was a slow pit stop, but I had enough time to the car behind and it didn't make a difference. So big congratulations to the whole team because it hasn't been an easy weekend in terms of finding a car set-up. To be leaving here with a fourth place feels amazing and gives us big confidence for the rest of the season.”
“I'm really happy today. Fifth place is a great result for me and, together with Checo in fourth, a fantastic day for the team. It's a great ending to a weekend where we worked incredibly hard and it's a nice reward for everybody in the team,” added teammate Esteban Ocon. “The car was fast in qualifying and we were on the pace straight away yesterday. We kept pushing and we showed good speed in the race as well. “
“Sure, there were some circumstances this afternoon that helped us, but you need to be ready to take the opportunities when they come your way. Once we had made it through the first lap chaos, we had the pace to easily keep ahead of all the cars behind and we could manage our race. I feel we maximised what we could get out of today: the team are doing everything right at the moment and that's what makes us so strong. There's still a lot we can achieve this year: we are always there when it counts and the car is consistently fast. Scoring points every time we go out is what really matters for the championship so we need to keep up this consistency.”
