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Perez/Ocon will be "handful" to manage - Force India
Force India expects its driver pairing will now be a "handful" to manage for the remainder of the campaign, judging by Esteban Ocon's recent impressive form.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jun 22, 2017, 8:56 PM
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Ocon caused some headaches for the team in Canada when his brilliant pace as he closed in on Perez left the pitwall facing a team orders headache about whether or not to swap its drivers around.
And while in the end the team elected not to impose team orders, chiefs have admitted that the situation may prompt a rethink about its rules of engagement for the rest of the year.
Force India's deputy team principal Bob Fernley is predicting an increasingly intense fight between his drivers from now on with Ocon having stepped up his pace.
"We were very clear on our choice of Esteban and we believe he had that potential," Fernley told Motorsport.com.
"You don't have to go that far back to see his F3 days against Max Verstappen. He was more than a match for him, so one would expect him to be at that level.
"He hasn't disappointed. If anything, he has over-performed, so in the second half of the season it is going to be quite a handful."
Fernley believes that Perez still holds a slight edge in pace, but acknowledges that Ocon has closed the gap – and will only become stronger when he starts competing at tracks he has raced in F1 before.
"There is still a little bit [of a gap]," said Fernley. "Even in qualifying here [in Canada] this weekend there was a couple of tenths. I think you will see it tightening even more post Silverstone, when Esteban effectively comes into his second year with those circuits.
"Then we will see another step up, and that is when we will have to be on our toes as a team."
When asked how good he believed Ocon could be, Fernley replied: "I think it is probably too early to make those assumptions.
"What he has done is remarkable and great, but he has to get through a whole season. Even in Canada he showed remarkable maturity in driving to the limit, but not having any incident with his teammate.
"Whichever way you look at it, it was great viewing and that is the maturity we are looking for. We will probably get a better idea at the end of the season when he has done the full season against Checo."
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