Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon came together once again in Spa on Sunday, is it a case of youthful exuberance or has it gone too far in the pink cars?
Spa would be the second time this season that both Force India drivers have come together and cost the team a big points scoring opportunity, not counting the numerous times both drivers have used aggressive moves against each other out on the circuit this season. With Force India locked into a battle with both Williams and Toro Rosso in the constructors championship, the small Silverstone based team and ill afford to throw away big points scoring opportunities in the highly competitive world of Formula One, a fact recently acknowledged by Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer post race in Belgium, where he confirmed both drivers will not be allowed free reign to fight on track for the remainder of the year;
“I only saw what you saw, but it looked like Sergio squeezed Esteban into the wall and came out the loser of that scrap,” Szafnauer told Sky Sports.
“In the future they’ll never have that opportunity again. We’ve let them race up until now. If they can’t do it in a manner which is good for the team, then they won’t be racing anymore.
“They shouldn’t be coming together. We’ve given them the latitude to race and I’ve always said that.
“We’ve told them if it happens again, if a Baku-type incident happens again, then we’ll be calling the race from the pitwall in the future.
“For sure, which is why we let them race,” he said. “But once it gets to the point of safety margins and crashing into each other we’ve got to take it into our own hands."
“In the future they’ll never have that opportunity again. We’ve let them race up until now. If they can’t do it in a manner which is good for the team, then they won’t be racing anymore.
“They shouldn’t be coming together. We’ve given them the latitude to race and I’ve always said that.
“We’ve told them if it happens again, if a Baku-type incident happens again, then we’ll be calling the race from the pitwall in the future.
“For sure, which is why we let them race,” he said. “But once it gets to the point of safety margins and crashing into each other we’ve got to take it into our own hands."
The first half of the current season has been generous to Force India, with the team having pulled ahead of fellow Mercedes powered rivals Williams in the constructors championship rankings, a gap that now stretches to over 50 points following a recent dip in form over at Grove.
Even former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has weighed in with an opinion, claiming both Spa incidents to be unacceptable, teammate or not;
"It doesn’t matter that it’s his teammate,” said Villeneuve. “Teammate, no teammate, it should not have happened between two drivers. You’re not so supposed to put anyone in danger.
“You can brake too late, make a mistake, fine, but down the straight you don’t weave and squish, you just don’t do that. It’s ridiculous".
Never short of an opinion, Villeneuve went on to brand Perez "dirty", an accusation that has occasionally been leveled at the aggressive Mexican driver, especially during his early McLaren days;“You can brake too late, make a mistake, fine, but down the straight you don’t weave and squish, you just don’t do that. It’s ridiculous".
“That kind of move from Perez is not racing, it’s pure blocking. You don’t do that. It’s aggressive. It’s dirty.”
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Do you think the FI drivers need to calm down with each other? Is the team becoming too toxic on the driving front and harming both drivers career prospects? Let us know in the comments section below!
