Esteban Ocon emphasised that he is not getting “carried away” with his grid position for the Monaco Grand Prix but reckons sixth spot gives Force India a strong chance at grabbing a haul of points.
Ocon was only 12th in Saturday afternoon’s final practice session but lifted himself up to sixth in qualifying as he emerged as the lead midfield runner.
It marked the young Frenchman’s best qualifying result of the season, coming off the back of successive retirements in Azerbaijan and Spain.
“I’m feeling very happy,” he said. “Today we showed our strength as a team and we are sixth on the grid in Monaco.
“It’s the most important qualifying session of the year and we have a great opportunity to score good points tomorrow.
“The team has done so much work to improve the car by bringing updates to each race and it’s really paying off.
“My lap in Q3 didn’t feel like my best of the weekend, but the car was working well and the lap time was there.
“I’m not getting carried away because there is a long way to go tomorrow. We still need to do a good job in the race, stay out of trouble and bring the car home.”
Force India team-mate Sergio Perez finished just a tenth behind Ocon – but the tight nature of the midfield meant he was beaten by both Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jr.
“I am really pleased with my job in Q1 and Q2: my laps there were perfect, possibly my best of the weekend,” said Perez, who is poised to start from ninth.
“In Q3, I lost a bit the feeling with the car, but even then I was less than a tenth away from being sixth. It was such a small margin but it will make a big difference on the grid tomorrow.
“I’m still happy with how much we improved the car after free practice. Esteban did a fantastic job to qualify where he did and our pace gives me confidence for tomorrow.”
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