Sahara Force India isn’t letting Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez race each other wheel-to-wheel following their most recent mishap in the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix. But the team sent the two drivers out on the track together one last time ahead of the Italian Grand Prix so they could put their feud behind them.
Ocon and Perez went for a therapeutic bike ride around Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Thursday morning so they could air out their dirty laundry before facing the media — and it seemingly worked.
The teammates unsurprisingly both were slated to take part in the first part of the FIA driver’s press conference in Italy. And by the time the Force India duo fielded their first questions, they apparently had said all they needed to say, and were ready to move on from the incident.
Although Force India currently sits fourth in the constructor standings, its gap to Red Bull Racing, which sits P3, could have been a lot less than 96 points. The team’s two drivers, however, have cost it a lot of points by their constant clashes throughout 2017, culminating at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where Perez hit Ocon twice in the same race.
There clearly is still tension between Perez and Ocon, currently P6 and P7 in the standings, respectively, but they at least can act civil around one another now. The same couldn’t have been said when they left Spa on Sunday.
And civility frankly is all Force India needs to ensure that its fourth-place in the championship isn’t put in jeopardy.
