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Force India F1 driver: Baku circuit - definitely great chance to score points

26 April 2018 [17:33] - TODAY.AZ

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Baku is definitely a great chance for us to score points, Force India Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon said before the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan.

"Baku is a cool event. It’s so fast with the longest straight of the year, which is quite unusual for a street circuit. It produced probably the best race for fans last year. I love the atmosphere of city races and it’s a really interesting place to explore. I also enjoy the delayed schedule because we wake up later in the day and there is more chance to have a good night’s sleep," he said.

Ocon reminded that his first race in Baku last year was pretty eventful.

"So much happened in the race and it was definitely a missed opportunity for us. We were competitive so I hope we can be quick again this year. The racing down the main straight was really cool and if you pick up a tow you can find a huge speed advantage," he noted.

"It is a place where you can go three or four cars wide, which is insane. It’s not the sort of racing you often see in Formula One so it’s quite exciting when it happens," he added.

Ocon went on to say that there are good overtaking opportunities in Baku so one can make up a lot of ground even if he is at the back.

"Baku is definitely a great chance for us to score points. The car is improving with each race and I can see how hard everybody is working to find more performance. At every race this year we’ve had new items to test and it’s the same this weekend. It’s still early days in the season and if we can unlock the potential in the car I think we can be up there fighting consistently at the front of the midfield," he noted.

Sergio Perez, in turn, said that Baku is already a track with a big reputation.

"I have special memories from 2016 and our podium. It’s a track where we have always been competitive so I want to go there this year and score points," he said.

"The first few races haven’t gone very smoothly for me. I think I’ve been unlucky, especially in Bahrain, but I know it sometimes happens in racing. The last race in China was really disappointing because I lost out on lap one and there was no way to recover to the points. Our pace was competitive and we took another step forward with the car performance, but things just didn’t work out on race day," he noted.

Team Principal Vijay Mallya expects Baku to be an important weekend for Force India.

"Baku will be an important weekend for us and we’re determined to get back into the points. The first few races haven’t delivered the results we were expecting, but this was mostly due to circumstances that worked against us," he said.

"We were involved in first lap incidents that dropped us down the order in Bahrain and in China, and we didn’t show our true potential. With such a closely matched midfield, it’s very difficult to recover if you lose so much ground at the start of a race. On the positive side we’ve shown good progress with our car performance since Melbourne. We have made Q3 in the last two races and we understand the car more. It’s time for our luck to turn and the results to follow," he said.

Formula 1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan will be held in Baku on April 27-29.

The length of the race track is just over six kilometers. The width of the widest section of the track is 13 meters, and the narrowest section is around Icherisheher: the width of the seventh and eighth turns is 7.6 meters.

Start and finish is at the Liberty square. The team garages, pit lane and the paddock club are also there.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/sports/169431.html

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