Although they aren’t scrapping for the top spot in the World Drivers’ Championship, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon are quickly becoming the new Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in 2017. The duo frequently find a way to collide each other in the races and their latest tangle in Belgium is the last straw for the team.
The Force India teammates were involved in two incidents in the race and have become the post-race talking point for many. Both collisions happened on the same section of track on the run up to Eau Rouge, albeit many laps apparent. The first incident occurred on the opening lap of the race when Pérez squeezed Ocon into the wall. The teammates escaped serious damage, only to collide again on lap 29. This time, Pérez didn’t leave Ocon the space in the same section of track and cut off Ocon. He punctured his right rear tyre and damaged his teammate’s front wing. Both drivers pitted, although Pérez later retired for an unrelated reason.
This is two of many times that the duo have managed to collide with each other so far this season, leading the Team Principal, Vijay Mallya, to take drastic measures:
“I have been very happy with our overall performance during the 2017 season with both drivers scoring points for the team and racing freely. However, as much as I support competitive racing, the repeated incidents between both our cars are now becoming very concerning. Under these circumstances I have no choice but to implement a policy of team orders in the interest of safety and to protect the team’s position in the constructors’ championship.”
As is so often the case with race incidents, neither driver wanted to take responsibility for the collision. Both drivers played the famous blame game.
Ocon said that the first incident was understandable, due to the nature of the close racing in the opening lap of a grand prix. However, he didn’t feel the same way about the second incident. “He squeezed me towards the wall again, made contact with my front wing, and risked both our races for no reason,” he explained after the race. “It has cost the team points and it’s difficult for me to understand why he was so aggressive. I will take the time to speak to him alone and share my point of view.”
On the other hand, Pérez took total responsibility for the first incident, saying: “I apologise for the incident at the start, which was totally my fault. I didn’t select the start mode and I was down on power going down the hill. I was battling with Nico [Hulkenberg] and I thought I had a good margin on all the others. I moved to the right without checking my mirrors and didn’t see Esteban was there.”
However, it was a different story when the second collision was discussed. In this situation he felt that both drivers carried a certain level of blame for the incident and that perhaps Ocon was too optimistic with his overtaking move. “I think he was a bit too optimistic because there was just no room to make a move,” explained Pérez. “I was covering my line and I expected him to attack after Eau Rouge – he had the whole straight to overtake me. I think we both misjudged the situation and we ruined the race for the team.”
Since the race, both drivers have been squabbling a bit on social media. Ocon said in a Tweet that Pérez tried to kill him. Pérez fired back with a video response, calling Ocon’s comments stupid.
Damage limitation today, we were having a good race until Perez tried to kill me 2 times! Anyway he didn’t manage to do so ending up P9??! pic.twitter.com/00kmub96B4
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) August 27, 2017
Part 2 #NeverGiveUp #Checo11 pic.twitter.com/k5NMb4TLxM
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) August 27, 2017
This is likely to be a topic of discussion for the rest of the season. It’s important to remember at this point that Ocon currently holds a contract for the 2018 season, while his teammate still has not been officially signed to the team for next season.
