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Perez, Ocon to start 8th and 10th at Spanish GP

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Press Trust of India Barcelona
Last Updated : May 13 2017 | 9:28 PM IST
Sahara Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will start at eighth and tenth respectively in the Spanish Grand Prix of the Formula One Championships tomorrow after both finished in the top-10 in the qualifying race here today.
Perez clocked a best lap time of 1:21.070 to finish at eighth while Ocon had a time of 1:21.272 to end the qualifying race at 10th spot at at the Circuit de Catalunya.
"I'm very happy to be up in P8, although I am a bit disappointed to lose out to Fernando (Alonso) by such a small margin. This result comes as a bit of a surprise after some difficult practice sessions, but I think the team did everything right this afternoon," Perez said after the qualifying race.
"I think the key to our performance was the way we approached our warm-up lap because we got the tyres in the correct window and found the grip when it mattered. The race is going to be long, but I have a new set of tyres, which we managed to save in Q1, and that should make a difference tomorrow," said the Mexican.
"Overtaking is difficult here, so I hope I can make up some ground at the start: we have some very quick cars behind us who will give us a challenge, but I think we're on course for a good race."
Ocon said he was disappointed not to be higher up the grid and also lamented that he could not use the Drag Reduction System (DRS).
"My lap in Q3 was heavily compromised because I did not get the DRS to work. I pressed the button too early and the DRS did not open. So I missed out on some performance, maybe three tenths, which would have made a big difference," Ocon said.
"On the other hand, as a team we have both cars inside the top ten and we've shown that when it matters we are strong and consistent. That's encouraging for tomorrow and for the races to come. A good start and strong first lap will be important tomorrow and I'm confident we have the speed to get a good result," said the Frenchman.

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First Published: May 13 2017 | 9:28 PM IST

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