Force India "pretty satisfied" after trouble-free second test

The first test at Barcelona was marred by poor weather conditions and even snowfall, severely hampering teams’ running. Force India was arguably the biggest victim, the Silverstone-based squad completing the least running of all teams.

However, with weather improving in time for the second test, also at Barcelona, Force India was able to make up for the mileage deficit and ended pre-season with 711 laps.

With no major issues popping up during the last four days, Force India’s chief race engineer Tom McCullough hailed the VJM11’s supreme reliability as a “remarkable achievement.”

“We can look back at these two weeks feeling pretty satisfied,” he said. “Despite the time lost because of the weather last week, we were able to complete our ambitious programme and made good progress in understanding the VJM11.

“The reliability of our car was one of the highlights of testing: we were able to run run solidly without any significant issues and, for a new car, that is a remarkable achievement. The whole team did a great job.”

In terms of raw laptimes, Force India was the eighth quickest team, courtesy of Esteban Ocon’s effort of 1m18.967s on the hypersoft tyres.

However, with teams running on different fuel loads and engine modes, laptimes in pre-season testing should always be read with a pinch of salt.

For instance, Mercedes, widely expected to stay as F1’s benchmark team in 2018, was only half a second quicker than Force India on the same compound.

That said, Force India is keeping a lid on its expectations, with Sergio Perez insisting earlier this week that the Silverstone-based squad is no longer the fastest midfield team on the grid.

"Right now it's hard to judge where we are, but certainly I don't think we are leading the mid-pack at the moment,” he said. ”But I certainly always say it doesn't matter where we start, it's where you are in Abu Dhabi.

"We will see in Melbourne where we are, once we bring our package, but I'm very hopeful of what we are going to have for Melbourne. It's too early to be disappointed or happy. We have to keep our heads down and work."