519 replies to this topic

[markelov74]

So it’s going to be another close battle between the two Pink Panthers most likely. A disappointing start for the new Force India, qualifying P13 for Checo and P15 for Esteban.

[JoeDede]

Yep, hope it's gonna be heated, but without the accidents. Still think Ocon will rise through this season though.

[DutchQuicksilver]

They were 11th and 15th or so last year in quali weren’t they? Just like last year, during the first few races, they need clever racing and some luck to score points early on.

I expect Perez to stay ahead to a similar gap as last season though.

[30L]

Will there be more drama? More blood and tears? More bits and pieces of heavily trimmed carbon fiber flying all around? Ladies and gents grab your drinks and favorite chairs cuz we WILL find out!

 

Quick recap of last season:

 

Pérez: Qualys ahead: 13

           Races ahead:  11*

           Points: 100

 

Ocon: Qualys ahead: 7

           Races ahead: 6*

           Points: 87

*Without DNFs

 

Numbers ahead for Pérez coming to the second season of them pairing, with Ocon closing the gap his teammate had gained by mid season and with the promise of another exciting year ahead!

Who will come on top by the end???

Feel free to elaborate.

Edited by 30L, 24 March 2018 - 08:54.

[sopa]

They were 11th and 15th or so last year in quali weren’t they? 

 

11th and 14th.

 

Their starting point is a bit lower at the moment, but with good in-season development they should start getting regular points some time soon. We will see, how the Haas, Renault and McLaren packages evolve. It could be none of them has a decisive edge and all take turns in taking points away from each other. So could be a close season in fight for P4 in WCC. No-one out of these four can be written off yet.

[30L]

A bit disappointing indeed but let's see what the race brings, hopefully more punching above their weight for them? Pérez on top, hopefully!

 

I hope you are right DQS...

[PistolPete]

Will there be more drama? More blood and tears? More bits and pieces of heavily trimmed carbon fiber flying all around? Ladies and gents grab your drinks and favorite chairs cuz we WILL find out!

 

Quick recap of last season:

 

Pérez: Qualys ahead: 13

           Races ahead:  11*

           Points: 100

 

Ocon: Qualys ahead: 7

           Races ahead: 6*

           Points: 87

*Without DNFs

 

Numbers ahead for Pérez coming to the second season of them pairing, with Ocon closing the gap his teammate had gained by mid season and with the promise of another exciting year ahead!

Who will come on top by the end???

Feel free to elaborate.

 

I expect that Ocon will be beaten comfortably by Perez this year. The difference between the two were masked by FI being alone in the gap between midfield and topteams most of last year. When the field I tighter more often the difference between the two will be several positions.

[KWSN - DSM]

I expect Perez to have the upper hand again this season.

 

[TFLB]

The positions don't really tell the story of Perez's demolition of Ocon today. I do think that Ocon has been vastly overrated by many, he never looked consistently better than Perez and of course probably cost him a win in Baku.

[Collective]

I expect it to be closer this time, perhaps more like the Checo vs Hulk rivalry in '15 and '16. Ocon could edge Perez, but I doubt it will be the demolition that the whole press seems to be sure of. First qualy session for Pérez, for starters, let's see how it evolves.

[KWSN - DSM]

I expect it to be closer this time, perhaps more like the Checo vs Hulk rivalry in '15 and '16. Ocon could edge Perez, but I doubt it will be the demolition that the whole press seems to be sure of. First qualy session for Pérez, for starters, let's see how it evolves.

 

I think that Ocon is a little be less talented than what he is presumed to be, I think Perez is a little bit more talented than he is presumed to be, which is why I expect Perez to once again be the better of the two.

 

And I really, really hope posters are done in excusing Ocon as a rookie driver not expected to beat Perez.

 

[theflyingwheel]

No doubt Perez dominated in every single aspect Ocon this race, we will see if this is a one off or a trend now that Ocon is no longer fighting in the high end of the middle pack.

[Collective]

Well, Checo's pace in the last stint wasn't too terrible, if the team develops well throughout the season and they understand the package, they could be fighting McLaren and Renault... In Andrew Green we trust!

[IamFasterthanU]

Extremely poor weekend from Ocon  was totally outqualified and outraced by Perez. His press comments, statements before the season started and the on track performance don't correlate.  

[Laster]

Good drive from Perez today, a shame the Force India isn’t quite fast enough to compete with the Renault, Mclaren and surprisingly Haas. But he did have the upper hand on Ocon all weekend. I’m a bit disappointed by Ocon’s performance this weekend, he never seemed quite able to challenge Perez.

[HonNSX]

Ocon the most overrated in driver in F1. Perez will have him in his pocket all season.

[30L]

Bit sad to see them pink panthers outside the points but nothing new nor unexpected really. Positive for Perez starting with the right foot the intra team battle. Let's just wait and see how they develop.

[Laster]

Perez will have him in his pocket all season.

Nonsense. Perez didn’t have him in his pocket all last season, they were close in pace and points with Perez edging it. Ocon had a bad weekend in Aus, but these are two very good drivers and whose on top will swing vack and forth.

[HonNSX]

Nonsense. Perez didn’t have him in his pocket all last season, they were close in pace and points with Perez edging it. Ocon had a bad weekend in Aus, but these are two very good drivers and whose on top will swing vack and forth.

 

This season I am talking about. Checo is very underrated and I think last year was Ocons best chance as Mr new kid on the block. Now that Checo has seen whats against him, he is going to up his game and take control. I also feel last year FI were biased in favour of Ocon. Maybe Merc influence? Who knows.

[JoeDede]

I was expecting Ocon to be on top in 2018, so I'm a bit disappointed about this first weekend.    Good weekend for Perez 

[Laster]

This season I am talking about. Checo is very underrated and I think last year was Ocons best chance as Mr new kid on the block. Now that Checo has seen whats against him, he is going to up his game and take control. I also feel last year FI were biased in favour of Ocon. Maybe Merc influence? Who knows.

I know what you’re talking about. It’s nonsense. Ocon only had half a season of experience under his belt and he pushed Perez very hard, he deserves credit for that, just as Perez deserves credit for having defeated him by every metric across the course of the 2017 season. Now in 2018 Ocon will be stronger, he now has full season in F1 and with Force India under his belt. Hopefully Perez will get stronger too, in this race he had Ocon handily beaten but it will not be an easy ride for him, 2017 very much proved it.

[coppilcus]

A bit of underwhelming feeling for the raw pace of the the car...

Force India overperformed in the last three seasons and core teams underperformed at the same time. Reality is tough to swallow!

Good weekend from Perez, which will manage to dominate his teammate throughout the season...

They’re now out of the cameras and, hopefully, will battle with the rest of the midfield for points, arguably for the positions rewarding the least amount of them, but the battle among many will remove the sparks that ignited the intro team rumble from last season. Away from the spotlight, Monsieur Ocon will have to concentrate on developing the car, finding pace to just scrap Q3 and P10, beating his teammate and six other drivers which, in paper, will be faster than him throughout the entire season. That’s where a more experienced and partially (strategy and tyre management wise) more talented driver will beat him in consecutive seasons.

Hopefully the team will find more downforce somewhere, they deserve a fighting chance to defend their fourth place in the championship!

[charly0418]

They’ve always been strong in Bahrain and have a new front wing coming. If they don’t show pace the next race then you can write the team off for the year

[Viryfan]

Good job from the whole team.

 

Ocon managed to outdo Sainz Jr.

 

Both drivers evenly matched.

[sopa]

Also a passive thread, like the Hulk-Sainz one.

 

Well, at least the car seems to be improving, so expecting Force India should gradually start scoring points as the season unfolds. 

 

Perez didn't get any points in Australia for having upper hand, but now Ocon has a great chance to open the score. I think he replicated his late-2017 form by outqualifying Perez here.

[JTSaika]

His mood, his driving, his lack of care and the fact that the car is not as good anymore. This is Perez's last season. He simply doesn't seem care at all anymore. Having a child also does that to a person. You begin to value life in different ways. 
Best enjoy the last of him as we can. 

[Laster]

I don't think it's having a child that has affected his mood, but the car not being 4th best. Force India have been great these passed few seasons, and they've often improved the car through the year to make it competitive, but this time with Renault and Mclaren on the up, it feels like a much bigger ask than before, and I feel like Perez knows that. The lower down the order the car is, the more difficult it is to show off your talent. I don't believe it'll be Perez last season, but I do think he should have taken that Renault drive when it was offered, rather than trying to get the Ferrari drive off Raikkonen.

[TFLB]

Why all the doom and gloom about Perez... in terms of pace he seemed to have the edge on Ocon in the race, and was very close at the end, impressive when you consider he was facing backwards on the first lap.

[JTSaika]

When you follow a personality for so long you tend to notice the drop offs. His heart just doesn't seem to be in it. With the instant involving Hartley at the formation lap he basically admitted that he didn't even care to try to hand the place back. His grid walk interview lacked any emotion at all and he looked the most distracted during the anthem
He hasn't seemed this miserable since his second half of his McLaren year, and that was mainly due to the emotional distress he felt aswell. 

Edited by JTSaika, 08 April 2018 - 22:43.

[sopa]

Let's not be overdramatic now.

 

Ocon is in his second full season and more mature now. Him having an edge on Perez on a race weekend doesn't mean Perez is past it and on his way out of F1.

 

Sure the drivers are disappointed with current car performance. Let's see, how the season evolves. Perez could go knocking on the door of other teams if FI really struggles. But that's normal silly season.

[JTSaika]

Jesus. Ocon doesn't and has never had an edge over Perez. Can we let that meme die out, its getting old. 
Perez has only ever wanted to go in the Ferrari, and this season is the time where about 10 other drivers are out to prove they deserve that seat aswell. There really isn't anywhere else he'd like to go. 

Edited by JTSaika, 09 April 2018 - 10:46.

[Collective]

Why all the doom and gloom about Perez... in terms of pace he seemed to have the edge on Ocon in the race, and was very close at the end, impressive when you consider he was facing backwards on the first lap.

Exactly. Missed Q2 by one tenth, got punted by Hartley, and still he was only a second behind Ocon with a few laps to go (before Ocon managed to pass Sainz). 

 

While you have to give this one to Ocon for edging in qualy and not doing stupid rookie-level crap in the formation lap, it was hardly a beating. No edge to talk about here, this pair is close.

[theflyingwheel]

Lets wait and see, by numbers ocon did better but its very even, my bet is that this is indeed Perez last season but with Force India, Perez best hope is that Kimi retires this season since that could lead to some open options.

If Kimi retires it could mean Perez has a chance at Ferrari, you never know if Ricciardo is kept at RB i cant see a better option, if Ricciardo signs for Ferrari Rb calls Sainz Perez can go to Renault, worst case scenario Perez can join Haas i think its and interesting season for Checo.

[henke1972]

Lets wait and see, by numbers ocon did better but its very even, my bet is that this is indeed Perez last season but with Force India, Perez best hope is that Kimi retires this season since that could lead to some open options.

If Kimi retires it could mean Perez has a chance at Ferrari, you never know if Ricciardo is kept at RB i cant see a better option, if Ricciardo signs for Ferrari Rb calls Sainz Perez can go to Renault, worst case scenario Perez can join Haas i think its and interesting season for Checo.

 

Checo at Haas would be great. The combination of KMAG and Checo would be very interesting pairing. 

[HeadFirst]

Lets wait and see, by numbers ocon did better but its very even, my bet is that this is indeed Perez last season but with Force India, Perez best hope is that Kimi retires this season since that could lead to some open options.

If Kimi retires it could mean Perez has a chance at Ferrari, you never know if Ricciardo is kept at RB i cant see a better option, if Ricciardo signs for Ferrari Rb calls Sainz Perez can go to Renault, worst case scenario Perez can join Haas i think its and interesting season for Checo.

 

Perez to Ferrari?!?!  Pleeeeez, not this again.

[coppilcus]

It's a weekend for Ocon, but barely...

 

Perez had issues with the deployment of electric power in his last two runs in Q2 and got punted in the third corner by Hartley in the race and still ended at the back of Ocon with the same number of pit stops under their belts. That's not the image monsieur Ocon wants to get across the paddock, specially on the whereabouts of Mercedes. But it's indeed a sad scenario for both drivers if the car gets out developed by the entire grid this season, they'll get under the shadow of the lack of performance of the car and be judge as if it were theirs and not the machine. 

 

This race they even struggle with a Sauber!

 

 

When you follow a personality for so long you tend to notice the drop offs. His heart just doesn't seem to be in it. With the instant involving Hartley at the formation lap he basically admitted that he didn't even care to try to hand the place back. His grid walk interview lacked any emotion at all and he looked the most distracted during the anthem
He hasn't seemed this miserable since his second half of his McLaren year, and that was mainly due to the emotional distress he felt aswell. 

 

 

Relax!

 

Both drivers are unimpressed by the performance of the car and it's well within the realm of comprehension for both to be in this state of mind...

 

But infer that Perez is on it's way of retirement is beyond madness.

[JoeDede]

Perez to Ferrari?!?!  Pleeeeez, not this again.

 

Yeah, he has even less chance of going to Ferrari than Kmag and that is VERY unlikely 

[Collective]

Pérez to Ferrari would be very strange. Leclerc would have to be useless all season, no other top driver would have to be available, and even then, if Kimi keeps his current form and doesn't want to retire, I think they would keep him. He has been strong in these first two races.

[theflyingwheel]

Perez to Ferrari?!?! Pleeeeez, not this again.

If ricciardo stays at RB its the best candidate. Cant find a better option except Alonso or any driver (except bottas) of the top 3 teams which arent available, no Hulk, Magnussen, Grosjean, Sainz, neither any of the williams drivers or the sauber drivers (yet) he has deliver more than any of those.

If Kimi leaves and Ricciardo is not available (which i think its unlikely) the top candidate is Perez above any of the midfield, not even Kmag which after having two mediocre seasons at best is now a candidate for doing in two races what Perez has done in the last 3 seasons, will it happen probs not and we will see old Ricciardo at Ferrari but that would see Perez at Renault if Rb calls Sainz.

Edited by theflyingwheel, 09 April 2018 - 20:32.

[subh]

I would say that Pérez drove better than Ocon in the Bahrain GP, given where he was after being hit on the first lap and the damage to the floor of his car. Ocon was running sixth early stages but was pushed back down to ninth fairly easily. If Pérez had not been collected by Hartley I fully expect that he would have finished in a better spot than tenth.

[Viryfan]

I would say that Pérez drove better than Ocon in the Bahrain GP, given where he was after being hit on the first lap and the damage to the floor of his car. Ocon was running sixth early stages but was pushed back down to ninth fairly easily. If Pérez had not been collected by Hartley I fully expect that he would have finished in a better spot than tenth.

 

Well Ocon had to avoid a clash with Hamilton, if it was a non Merc driver, Ocon would've stayed on the inside.

 

Also Force India messed up the strategy of Ocon, they stayed too long on the two first stints meaning he was undercuted by Vandoorne and Perez in the first stop and then by Sainz Jr.

 

Had he pitted three to four laps earlier for the first stop , ocon would've covered vandoone.

 

Perez may have been better, but Ocon has not been helped by team strategy.

Edited by Viryfan, 10 April 2018 - 19:32.

[Collective]

Toto's feelings aren' a valid reason. If he chose to move, the loss is on him.

[Viryfan]

Toto's feelings aren' a valid reason. If he chose to move, the loss is on him.

 

well if mercedes no longer funds him to his seat at force india he is done.

 

these are not feelings but clear and loud instructions from mercedes, like in dtm.

[coppilcus]

well if mercedes no longer funds him to his seat at force india he is done.

 

these are not feelings but clear and loud instructions from mercedes, like in dtm.

 

If you're speaking figuratively, still don't buy it.

 

If you're speaking literally, I think Ocon did nothing to avoid a possible incident with Hamilton, the British just conquered the inside way after the first corner and was entitled to it in every scenario: Ocon and Hamilton battling alone or Ocon, Hamilton and Hulkenberg battling for the apex, which was the case. Hulkenberg braked late and was slightly ahead of Ocon (Which speaks volumes on the levels of downforce of the Force India, unfortunately for the Frenchman and Perez), Hamilton was faster on the inside and let both drivers without any chance for fighting back. Ocon got spooked by the Mercedes and that's why he, I think, overreacted on the chance of punting Hulkenberg, hence blocking, and loosing also the position with Alonso.

 

The Force India just simply can't corner at the speed the rest of the midfield can, and can't out brake anyone either because of the current low downforce levels...

[charly0418]

Very nice lap from Checo. He was very excited on the radio after that P8

[Disgrace]

Very tight between the two but Ocon is quietly being a big disappointment this year.

[PistolPete]

Very tight between the two but Ocon is quietly being a big disappointment this year.

 

I think Ocon is doing exactly as well as last year so far. 

[theflyingwheel]

Its so even right now, i think what mercedes (and ocon) was expecting was to dominate Checo and its not going that way, i wonder if things dont go well with Ocon whos mercedes choice gonna be.

[sopa]

Another small improvement by Force India though.

 

I wouldn't put it past them to fight for P4 in the Constructors again, while everybody is talking about McLaren, Renault and Haas. Most important thing is to start collecting more points with each race and not let anybody get far away in the standings.

[Collective]

What a disastrous start from Checo, and then Alonso kills off his race by sending him wide in turn 5.

 

Is it me or the decision to swap Esteban and Checo should have been made 5 laps earlier, when Magnussen lost to Alonso and Sainz? ... And swap them again after the leading car had managed a 2+ seconds gap? For an 11th? They went from total freedom to being ridiculous.

 

A chance wasted. Can't wait for Barcelona and the first big update.

Edited by Collective, 15 April 2018 - 08:08.