P5 Sergio Perez
Strategy: Used SuperSoft (25 laps) – New Soft (19 laps)
Sergio: “It’s a great performance by the team today and I think we executed an almost perfect weekend. My only disappointment is from yesterday because I think pole position was within reach, but we can definitely be happy about the points we have scored. We just couldn’t have kept the top teams behind us in the dry so to be ‘best of the rest’, with Esteban right behind me, is the most we could have done. My start was really good and I was able to place myself in the right positions during the first few corners. After that, my pace was strong and consistent. I opened a gap and after that I was able to control my race. There was nothing I could do to keep Valtteri [Bottas] behind me – sometimes you just need to pick your fights and think of the bigger picture. I am happy with what we have achieved; we have scored some important points for the team and sent a strong message for the next few races. It’s a nice start of a new era for the team.”
P6 Esteban Ocon
Strategy: Used SuperSoft (24 laps) – New Soft (20 laps)
Esteban: “I am satisfied with today’s race and I think we finished where we deserved to with the pace we had. I made a good start and I was on the inside of Sebastian [Vettel] at turn one. He had better traction, but I was very quick on the straight and tried to get the lead on the Kemmel straight. I had a good run down, slipstreaming both Vettel and Lewis [Hamilton] and I tried to find a way on the inside, but in the end I lost a place to Sergio. It was good, fair racing all around. It’s a good start to the “new” life of the team; we scored a lot of points which is important for our championship comeback. We showed good pace all weekend and hopefully this is going to continue in the final part of the season.”
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and CEO
“To come away from Spa with 18 points feels pretty good. We have been quick all weekend and it was important to convert our potential into a strong result today. It was a very eventful first lap, but we stayed out of trouble in turn one and Esteban was even challenging for the lead on the approach to Les Combes. Once things settled down, both drivers delivered clean and tidy races, but ultimately we didn’t have the pace to race for the podium today. Picking up fifth and sixth is just what we needed and it’s a credit to all 405 members of staff who have showed great resolve in recent weeks. I congratulate them all and look forward to scoring more points in the races to come.”
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