BAKU: Esteban Ocon telephoned his Force India team-mate Sergio Perez to clear the air after the controversy created by their battle over team orders at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Frenchman told reporters yesterday at a news conference ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that he wanted to ensure there was no remaining tension between them.
“So we had a good discussion after the race, in the debrief, and also I called Sergio during the week when everyone was relaxed,” he explained.
“We discussed our points. So, we are all set for the weekend and with no tension between us.”
Ocon believed he missed a chance for a maiden podium finish in Montreal because Mexican Perez refused to move aside as they battled with Red Bull’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo late in the race.
“The team took the decision to let us both race, which is respectable,” he said. “It’s great to see that they trust us and let us race.”
He added that though the pair discussed the incident during the post-race debrief, he felt it was necessary to do more.
“To have a further talk was quite important I think,” he said.
“We discussed our points freely, just us two, together.
“It was important to do that. As I said, now everything is settled down and we are ready to attack this race.”
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso and McLaren-Honda team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne will be “competing to start from the back of the grid” in Baku.
Belgian driver Vandoorne expects the misery to continue for the crisis-hit McLaren team, he told reporters during a news conference ahead of Sunday’s race.
“We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which is not ideal, but this is the situation we are in,” said Vandoorne.
“We will try to do our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs and hopefully we can play a bit during the race. We are probably competing to start from the back of the grid.”
Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 world title was the last of 12 drivers’ championships for McLaren, who are enduring their worst run in the team’s modern history.
Without a point this season and unlikely to stop the rot this weekend, McLaren have been hit by a series of setbacks as Honda, in their third season as exclusive partners and engine suppliers, struggle to deliver reliable units.
The Japanese company has suffered recurrent problems with its engine components, including another failure for Vandoorne in practice at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Both two-time world champion Alonso and Vandoorne will be using their sixth turbocharger, and other parts, this year and collect likely 15-place grid penalties.