Ocon: Force India would surprise with equal F1 budgets

Esteban Ocon has praised the underdog story of Force India and feels his team could produce even bigger surprises with an equal budget compared to its manufacturer rivals in Formula 1.

Force India has secured fourth place in the F1 world constructors’ championship for the second consecutive year, with the position being mathematically confirmed with two races to spare, which has put the Silverstone-based squad in the unusual position of having to pay $5,161 more per point for its 2018 entry fee with its prize money for P4 locked down.

According to Reuters, Force India’s haul of 177 points will see the total cost of entering the 2018 F1 season come to $913,497 on top of the base fee – while one race is still to come in Abu Dhabi.

With Force India operating on a workforce estimated to be half the size of its manufacturer rivals, while running on a third of the budget of the likes of Mercedes, Ocon says the team is surpassing expectations year-on-year.

The French driver, who suffered his first F1 DNF in Brazil that ended his record run of 27 consecutive finishes, also believes if every squad had equal budgets the British team could pull of further surprises in F1.

“Honestly, if everyone had the same budget I think some people would be surprised what Force India can achieve,” Ocon said. “At the moment with the budget we have, what we are achieving is amazing.

“The level of work we are putting in is a lot, but at the end the level is there. The performance is on-track so it would be nice.”

Ocon and Sergio Perez have been retained by Force India for 2018 as the team braces for a tougher season with an expected resurgence from McLaren, Renault and Williams.