F1: Force India still undecided on letting Ocon, Perez race freely again

Force India Formu🍎la 1 bosses will take their time to consider whether drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will be allowed to race freely again in the final two races of the s🥂eason after securing fourth place in the constructors' championship.

Perez and Ocon tangled in a number of on-track clashes through the early part of the F1 season, with two touches during the Bel🌃gian Grand Prix forcing the team to invok🅠e team orders and revise its rules of engagement to prevent further incidents.

Force India still undecided on letting Ocon, Perez race freely again

Force India Formula 1 bosses will take their time to consider whether drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will be allowed to race freely again in the final two races of the season after securin𝄹g fourth place in the constructors' championship.

Perez and Ocon tangled in a number of on-track clashes through the early part of the F1 season, with two touches during the Belgian Grand Prix forcing the team to invoke team orders and revise its rules of engagement to prev🌊ent further incidents.

The pair have not made contact since, with their strong on-track results clinching fourth pla💃ce in the F1 constructors' champion🌺ship for Force India on Sunday in Mexico with two races remaining, moving onto a record points total for the team in the process.

With no championship position to gain or lose in the fin🥂al two races of the year, it was suggested that Perez and Ocon may be given free rein to race once again in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, and Force India F1 chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer said talks would be held in the coming weeks to make a decision.

"That we’ve got to discuss internally as we still have a couple of weeks to decide.𓄧 It probably looks better for the fans if they ar💖e allowed to race," Szafnauer said.

"But at the same time car parts ꩲaren’t cheap, and if you crash into each ot𒅌her, maybe you have to buy some more for the next race and we still have a test.

"So a🌳ll those considerations have to come in to play as well."

Ocon and Perez found themselves running third and four🅷th respectively at one stage of last weekend's grand prix in Mexico, creating a possible headache for Force India as Perez chased a podium finish at his home F1 race.

However, Szafnauer stressed the team went into the race with a plan thꦐat it stuck to, with Ocon ultimately finishing fifth and Per꧂ez in P7.

"We played it how we set it out at the beginning. The reverse could have been tru꧙e, we could have had Checo in third and Esteban faster in fourth," Szafnauer said.

"Do you then tell Checo at his home race to move over because he is faster?ౠ You’ve scored a bunch of podiums and he hasn’t scored one so let’s give him a chance too.

"You’ve got to be fair, so the best way to do🌳 it is explain what the rules of engagement are early and then whatever happens you follow t🌱hem and don’t deviate.

"That is what we’ve been doing and that is fair because𝓡 one time it will beneficial to one and then the other.

"That is exactly what we’ve done since Spa."

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