Formula 1

Force India has strong but contentious finish at Canadian GP

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:53 p.m. ET

MONTREAL (AP) Force India drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez fought as much with each other as the other drivers in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

The two pink Mercedes were running nose-to-tail when Perez was told to let Ocon pass because he had fresher tires and a better chance to catch Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo. Perez responded: ''Let us race, man. Please.''

Perez said afterward that he was waiting for Ricciardo to make a mistake, and it never happened.

Although Sebastien Vettel passed them both, Perez held on to finish fifth - just ahead of his teammate. Ocon radioed in: ''He cannot do that. That's not fair racing at all.''

Perez insisted that neither of them could have caught Ricciardo, and on that the Red Bull driver agreed.

''If he wants to have a crack,'' he said, ''we can go at it in the car park in perhaps an hour.''

Despite the dissension, Force India was back in the points after 12th and 13th-place finishes in Monaco. The two top 6 finishes left the team a comfortable fourth in the constructors' championship, the ''best of the rest'' behind better-financed Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

---

More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org

Get more from Formula 1 Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Formula 1