Ocon Well Aware Of How Tight The Midfield Is

Esteban Ocon knows that “every point” will be crucial for Force India to come out of the midfield battle on top in 2018. 

His team, Force India, have managed to cement themselves in fourth place after finishing there in the past two years. 

However, this year the battle for fourth is expected to be tighter. Renault, Toro Rosso, McLaren, Williams and Haas will all be fighting to knock Force India off its perch. 

Ocon, 21, said: “We need to score every point we can because it’s going to be very tight at the end of the season and every point we score will make a difference. 

“Our objective is to get to Q3 and score a good amount of points. Until we get to the track we won’t know where everyone stands, but I hope we’re in a good place. 

“We do not underestimate anyone but we’re not scared of anyone. We know what we’re capable of.”

Ocon begins his second season as an F1 driver and believes the experienced he gathered first time around will be key to performance in 2018. 

“It’s good to be back in Melbourne a year after my Force India debut. 

“Having done it all before makes it easier because you know what’s going to happen and you can just focus on finding performance. 

“We have a new upgrade package on the car and we’re confident it’s going to be an improvement. 

“Testing was all about understanding which direction we had to take and from tomorrow we can find out where we stand.”