Race - Japanese GP report: Manor Mercedes

Two cars home in today’s Japanese Grand Prix, as Esteban and Pascal take the chequered flag in P21 and 22 after a tough race. That’s all for the Far East this season. Next, we’re heading west to discover The Americas!

Esteban Ocon

Esteban. In Summary?

“Well, we struggled a bit with the pace but I think we had a better strategy this time. A few more laps and I think I could have got close enough to Esteban Gutierrez to pass him.”

Five down, four to go. Time to head home and regroup ready for the big ‘Americas’ push?

“We keep making progress, always getting closer to the competition, which is good. Now we need to take some time to have a good look at all the data we’ve gathered - where we’re missing something, where we can improve - but what I can do also. There are only four races left and they will pass by quickly, but also four races is a lot of opportunities to improve and we have a lot to fight for, still.”

Pascal Wehrlein

Pascal, what have you got to say about that race then?

“Not so much, unfortunately. It ended up being a really difficult race. We struggled with the pace, we struggled with the blue flags – struggled generally today. There isn’t much more to say than that.”

We’ll say it for you then. Four races remaining and we need to find a way to get back in the fight with our immediate competitors?

“Yes, we’ve made some good steps and improved the car, so we just need to work with what we have to find more performance from the package and keep making that progress. We’re not far away, but that’s not where we want to be.”

A word with Dave Ryan, Racing Director

“On the face of it, not a race to particularly write home about, but we do leave the Far East with another two-car finish, having maintained our position in the championship. These last three races have been pretty tough, but we head home from Japan looking forward to the final four events of the season, starting in Austin in two weeks’ time. In the meantime, congratulations to our powertrain partner, Mercedes-Benz, on securing the triple - a very impressive performance.”