[Croft] Big crash there! Sergio Perez in the Force India.
[reporter] The Force India Formula One team has gone into administration,
following a court hearing in London.
Administration is there to provide the opportunity to rescue and save.
So no one's giving up.
[clamoring]
The team needs real funding to make sure it delivers
the potential that Otmar says you can all deliver.
As long as we stay together,
we will find the best possible financial solution
and ownership going forward.
-[cameras clicking] -[clamoring]
[Croft] The future for Force India
has been dominating the headlines over the summer,
The team has survived after the administrators reached an agreement
with a consortium of investors on a rescue package.
[Buxton] The consortium is led
by billionaire businessman, Lawrence Stroll...
-You looking for me? -[reporter] Just the man.
[laughs]
[Buxton] ...father of 19-year-old Lance Stroll,
So, could Lance soon be driving for his dad's new team?
[Lance] For the moment, I'm here at Williams.
I'm not, uh, sure what I'll be doing in the future.
Uh, we'll see what my father decides to do with me.
He's a nice guy. I hope they'll take me.
[laughs]
[Medland] Lawrence Stroll buying the team
is always gonna want his son to drive for it.
It's basically an open secret that Lance will move across
and race at Force India.
Both drivers at the team, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon,
will be looking over their shoulder wondering,
"Well, which one of us is gonna get the chop?"
And historically, those two have not got on.
-[Croft] Once again, they have touched. -[Brundle] Crazy.
[Ocon] Guys, what the fuck is this guy doing?
Fucking idiot.
[pneumatic tools whirring]
[Croft] Welcome to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix.
It's an important race for the teams, and none more so than Force India.
The pressure's on to impress new boss Lawrence Stroll.
How long we gonna wait?
My name is Otmar Szafnauer,
and I'm the Chief Executive Officer and Team Principal
of Racing Point Force India Formula One team.
[grinding]
[Szafnauer] It would've been a disaster disappearing mid-season.
So it was tricky times, but we came out of it.
The team is pretty much unchanged:
same people, same car, same desire to do well.
But Lance coming into the team is probably what will happen,
and what it means now is losing one of our drivers.
[Ocon] I know you know.
We are facing this unsure future.
It's a difficult situation for me.
[tools whirring]
As a kid, I always wanted to be a racing driver.
There was nothing else.
I've been racing since I'm seven years old.
[interviewer] How expensive is it to try and get kids into F1?
Oof.
[chuckles]
Uh, it's difficult to tell you how expensive it is exactly, but, um...
for sure, for someone normal, like we were, it's--
Yeah, everyone was saying it's impossible, basically.
My parents, they don't have a lot of money.
They sacrificed a lot.
We were living in a caravan for a few years, so we could go to races.
[in French] It's still here?
[Ocon in English] Without my parents, I would not be here for sure.
-[in French] She isn't coming? -No.
[Buxton] Esteban's story is amazing.
He's come from nothing
to having the potential to be not just a race winner,
but a championship contender.
But motor racing's a funny business.
Talent will get you so far,
but money has a massive role to play.
As a driver, if you come with a bevy of sponsors who can add millions
to the pot that the team has to design, to develop their car,
and have increased potential to score points,
then the team is gonna look favorably on you,
to take you onboard as one of their drivers.
Hi, I'm Sergio Perez. I drive for Force India.
I've been here eight years in Formula One.
I'm 28 years old.
F1 was always my dream, to race with the best drivers in the world.
I was always racing in Mexico and I never thought that an opportunity
to race in Europe was going to come up.
It was always very expensive.
So we had to find sponsors.
Carlos Slim is one of the richest guys in the world.
I remember calling him all the time
when I was a fourteen year old to give me an opportunity.
We started together the dream of making it into Formula One.
The career that I have, it's pretty much linked to our decisions we took together.
[Buxton] Sergio's always had a very strong hand at Force India
because he was the money guy.
He brought big sponsorships from Mexico with him,
but now, there's a bigger fish, and that bigger fish is Lawrence Stroll.
So Sergio's not king of the hill anymore.
It's anyone's guess, at the moment, who gets that seat.
Esteban and Sergio...
I don't think they're on each other's Christmas card list.
I think it's fair to say that.
Formula One is massively competitive,
but the situation with Ocon and Perez in 2017
went beyond the point that I think any of us thought that it would.
You've gotta understand the psychology and the dynamics of the team,
and how that worked.
You know, Esteban had to quickly make a name for himself.
He was a rookie.
Sergio, he had to assert himself as the driver
that was with the team the longest.
[Brundle] This is two teammates scrapping away here.
[Croft] Ocon is gonna go for it again, trying to get past Perez,
but here comes Vettel in the Ferrari.
Up the inside into turn one, Ocon slithers out wide.
And the two Force Indias, after fighting each other,
have lost a place.
[Ocon] He moved at the last moment. What is this?
It's not fair racing at all.
[Buxton] Esteban, did your teammate cost you a chance
at your first Formula One podium today?
Uh, yeah. I think so, for sure.
But, that's racing, you know?
Um... and that's not gonna take away my smile.
[Buxton] Are you racing for Sergio Perez,
or are you racing for Force India?
[Perez] Oh, of course, I'm racing for my team, you know?
I think I just defend the position as I will do to anyone.
[Croft] The two Force Indias vying for position.
Perez gets ahead of Ocon.
They come into the left-hander... oh, they've made contact!
[Brundle] Big damage to Perez's front wing.
[Croft] Both damaged.
[Perez] What did Esteban do, guys?
I think he was just over-aggressive.
I think, um, what happened today is totally unacceptable for the team.
[Buxton] He says that you gave him no room.
Says that you squeezed him against a wall, cost the team a potential win today.
That's what he said? Okay.
Well, if that's what he said, you know, I'm not gonna comment.
[Buxton] Both Sergio and Esteban, they're both looking at their future.
So this inter-team rivalry of being top dog at the team
becomes all encompassing...
[Croft] The two teammates are battling again.
Perez gets past Ocon, as they now accelerate
towards the fastest part of the circuit.
Oh! The two Force India's made contact!
Missing a part of his front wing, Ocon there.
-Once again, they have touched. -[Brundle] Crazy.
[Ocon] Guys, what the fuck?
What the fuck is this guy doing?
Front wing broken now.
[Croft] The two Force Indias get too close together
and it is a puncture for Sergio Perez.
[reporter] Has the relationship between you totally gone now?
I don't know. The thing for sure is that I'm gonna go speak to him man-to-man
and tell him the truth, you know?
He's gonna have a child. I don't know if he wants to die or something.
[reporter] It seems that you both get locked into some huge battles on track.
-Is that good for the team? -Yeah. No, not at all.
Especially after today.
But we have to look back, remember Baku, you know?
He put me there on the wall.
I'm not saying that I did it because of that, you know,
but tension starts back then, you know?
[Buxton] It got so bad,
the team stepped in and stopped them from racing each other.
It was as simple as that.
They were not allowed to race one another again.
Once they started understanding how important it was for them to work together
and not crash into each other, it got better.
[engines buzzing]
[Croft] It's time for qualifying here in Spa.
[cheering]
Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez
are used to fighting each other for points,
but now, they're fighting for a seat.
Who can show what they're capable of
at one of the most challenging and treacherous tracks in the world?
Rain in the air. It would be, it's Spa.
[Bradley Joyce] The worst of the rain, we think has missed turn one.
It's raining heavy in the pit lane now.
The difference between driving on the wet and the dry, every lap,
one line can be much quicker than the other one.
So you have to adapt. Every lap is different conditions.
This is what's fun about it.
[Croft] Lewis Hamilton going for a record fifth pole position here at Spa.
[Hamilton] It's raining a lot down the back here.
[Croft] The crowd are reaching for the umbrellas already
and it might be that the track is a bit too slippy.
[Buxton] At the speeds these guys are doing,
when it starts to rain, your reactions have to be lightning.
[tires squealing]
[Hamilton] Oh, shit. Valtteri's gone off.
[Croft] Valtteri Bottas has slid his way off the track.
[Perez] Fucking shit, man! Fucking shit!
[Croft] They've got to get on the right line.
They've got to spot every braking point.
And it's Hamilton with the fastest lap-time so far.
[Hamilton] That was one tough lap to do.
[Croft] Sergio Perez looks set to take fourth,
an amazing result for Force India, if he can hang onto it.
-[Tim Wright] Checo, P-4. P-4. -[Perez] Good job, guys.
[Croft] There are challenges still to come for Esteban Ocon.
When I was a kid, there was a lot of time spent on the rain.
And when all the kids were stopping because it was too wet,
they were getting wet,
I was keeping going even when I had freezing hands where I couldn't move.
I was crying after that.
But while driving, I was not feeling anything.
I was pushing to be the best I could.
[Joyce] So, Esteban, that is...
P-3. P-3.
[Ocon] You're joking. You're joking.
[Croft] Ocon goes third fastest. His best ever qualifying in Formula One.
[Ocon] Whoo!
Yes!
Whoo!
[Croft] The rain came down to give Force India
one of their greatest ever days.
[Joyce] They're waiting for you on the grid.
You need to line up in P-3, which is to the left hand side.
It's Hamilton, Vettel, you.
[Ocon] Oh, my God.
[Buxton] Esteban Ocon's qualifying performance in Spa
was absolutely astonishing.
You'd think that he qualified above everybody,
other than Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton,
who are these two four-time world champions.
[crowd cheering]
[reporter] Esteban, welcome to the top three.
Hi, everyone. Hello. Thanks for all the support, first of all.
[Croft] Well, fairytale for the team, and for Ocon as well here.
The speculations to where he might be in a few races' time,
let alone next season.
There he is, lining up on the second row.
[Hamilton] Unfortunately, we're not--
We're in a place in Formula One where you've got some teams
that rather than take, like, a new up-and-coming kid
they'll take who ever's got the money.
But he needs to be in a great car because he's one of the top drivers here.
So I hope that opportunity is there for him.
[Croft] So, Force India, what a month it has been.
They go into administration,
they get rescued, they get taken over,
they come to Spa, and they lock out the second row.
[Buxton] No driver likes to be beaten by their teammate.
They're the first reference. They're in the same car,
and that's the person you've got to beat.
So someone like Sergio Perez, if he's getting out-qualified
by Esteban Ocon, that's gonna really hurt
because this is a guy with less experience,
but maybe he's showing he's got more potential.
[Croft] We're minutes away from racing here at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Since the start of the season,
Esteban Ocon has out-qualified his teammate
eleven times to four.
So Sergio Perez really needs a good result tonight.
[engines roaring]
[Croft] It's a good start for Esteban Ocon.
Two Force Indias together again, they're going wheel-to-wheel.
Into the wall goes Esteban Ocon!
[crowd gasps]
I got hit by Sergio badly. Badly, badly.
[Perez] Sorry, guys, there was no room.
I basically did not even see him.
[Croft] It's Baku from last year.
It's Spa from last year all over again.
And it's Ocon who is squeezed into the wall by his teammate.
[Buxton] Esteban's car's in the wall,
thanks to Sergio, on the first lap of the race.
It's utterly unforgivable.
Esteban, awful to see you back here in the pit lane.
What happened?
Well, I think it's clear, and I think everyone saw what happened.
I'm not gonna comment yet.
I want to see the images and discuss with the team first,
so, uh, we'll see.
Thanks very much.
[Brundle] I think, "I'm not gonna comment,"
probably says more than Esteban Ocon really wants to give away.
[Croft] So one Force India car out of the race,
can Sergio Perez rescue some points for the team?
[Wright] Checo, Sirotkin ahead. We will need to overtake him.
[Croft] Is he gonna go for it? Down the inside maybe?
No. Sergio Perez very nearly ran into the back of Sergey Sirotkin.
[Perez] Man, Sirotkin is moving so much on the braking. Too much, man.
[Croft] He's vastly experienced, Martin,
but we're starting to see increasing desperation from the Mexican.
[Perez] This is a joke, really. Do you really want me to crash?
[Buxton] Perez's frustration was so evident to see,
but is that frustration with Sirotkin in the race,
or is it a deeper frustration in him not yet knowing his future?
[Croft] Sergio Perez finally finds a way past Sergey Sirotkin.
-It's not gonna be easy. -[Brundle] Or does he?
[Croft] They're still going through this.
Oh, no! They've managed to crash.
Perez has got severe damage.
[Wright] Left rear puncture. Box. Box.
[Brundle] I wonder if that was just angry. He was driving angry.
Singapore was, I think, a very visual representation
of what's going on in Sergio Perez's head.
[Perez] I tried to close the door before braking,
but obviously he doesn't move at all
and I probably... I was over optimistic there.
[Buxton] He looked like a rookie, completely losing his marbles.
He needs to be impressing the team and showing that he can be a leader,
not that he's gonna fall apart when things don't quite look
like they're going his way.
[Croft] A very disappointing night indeed for the Force India team.
We will have no points for both cars, so, yeah, it's a terrible weekend.
Better.
[Ocon] Now it is a crucial time.
After the last race, I have to score a lot of points.
I hope I can finish on a high to get the seat for next year.
I don't count time, I don't count hours.
It doesn't matter if it's Christmas, New Year, holidays,
because the most important thing in sport is to perform and is to do a great job
and to be different than the others.
There's nothing else that counts.
You push to be the best you can, you know.
I've dreamed of this as a kid, pushing every day,
waking up with the same target, the same goal.
I'm not gonna let anything in between me and the performance.
I'm just gonna work harder, and I think that always pays off.
[Croft] We're here in Mexico City for the start of the Mexican Grand Prix.
[in Spanish] Can you hear the crowd cheering?
[Croft in English] It's a huge race for home favorite Sergio Perez.
And there's some big news for his team, Racing Point Force India.
After months of speculation,
they've announced their driver lineup for next season.
In 2019, we'll have Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez
as our two racecar drivers.
Next year, my situation is still, you know, quite blurry.
I don't really know what, uh-- what I will be doing.
I don't really understand how that has gone from being a dream situation
to that situation now.
[Szafnauer] We saw talent in Sergio,
and, yes, he came with the backing of Carlos Slim,
so for us, it was an added benefit
because funding does correlate highly to performance
and we need all the funding we can get.
But first and foremost, he's there because of his talent.
What I don't understand is that all the things can be above performance,
above motivation, above work.
Checo has a helicopter from the hotel to the track.
But, yeah, I'm not at this level yet. [scoffs]
But, yeah, he's there on the massive sign. Do you see?
He's everywhere.
He looks happy.
-[man] Checo, Checo! -[crowd cheering]
Checo!
[Ocon] I'm giving it all my heart to be here and I'm giving it all I can,
but unfortunately, there's other things that comes in play
and that's what I don't really understand
and that's what disappoints me a bit so far.
Are you looking forward to driving with Lance?
[laughs]
It's just the lack of opportunities that this sport offers, you know?
We only have twenty seats.
[people speaking Spanish]
[Perez] It just happens, you know?
One day, it's gonna be me...
[crowd cheering]
[Croft] Just listen to the crowd.
It's race day here at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Fingers crossed.
And I'm sure the whole of Mexico are keeping their fingers crossed
for Sergio Perez, who fancies his chances for a really strong points finish
in today's race.
[Perez] I think very few drivers in the world
get to experience that amount of support from their countries.
It is another pressure.
You try to be perfect and you really work hard
and you really try to focus on your thing.
[Croft] No love lost between Sergio Perez and his teammate, Esteban Ocon.
I'm sure Ocon will want to prove what he's made of
before he leaves Force India.
To beat Checo in Mexico, it's one of your goals here?
Well, my goal is to do the best I can. So, um, yeah, it is. [chuckles]
[Buxton] Esteban Ocon has only got a few races left this season
to deliver the results that convinces another team
to put him in for 2019.
So right now, he's driving for his career.
Rumors certainly starting to circulate that Esteban may be within a shot,
a chance of that final seat at Williams.
[Croft] And this is the way it looks.
Ricciardo on pole, Verstappen in second,
Lewis Hamilton starts third.
And Hamilton driving for the driver's championship.
If he finishes seventh or higher, he'll become a five-times world champion.
[engine revs]
Esteban Ocon starts eleventh.
Ocon out-qualifying Sergio Perez, who starts thirteenth.
[Brundle] Sergio Perez, the local hero.
There's a man who looks like he's carrying a lot of anticipation,
hope, and stress.
[engines roaring]
[Croft] It's the dash down to turn one then.
Who's gonna come out on top?
So far, all getting away freely.
Esteban Ocon and Hülkenberg going wheel-to-wheel.
And there's damage.
[Ocon] I have damaged front wing.
[Joyce] You will be pitting, Esteban. You will be pitting.
You have half the front wing missing.
Copy.
[Croft] Ocon already into the pits.
He's gone from eleventh to last in three corners.
[tools whirring]
[Ocon] It's hard at that moment when you go off of the track.
Even if the guys are really quick, it's a lot of seconds lost.
I knew I had to catch up and get back in the race.
[Croft] Nightmare start for Ocon, but he's back out.
How far can he climb back up the order?
Checo, your pace is at least as good as the cars behind, if not better.
[Perez] Yeah, I think I can be one second quicker than this.
[Perez] At that point in the race,
I was focused on trying to achieve the best I possibly could.
[Croft] Here goes Sergio Perez, running in eleventh place.
Sergio Perez is having a go. Swoops round the outside.
Sergio Perez has got his man and Mexico stands and applauds.
Brilliant moving, brilliant overtaking.
So, Esteban, we need to be pushing up to Sirotkin
as much as possible now.
[Croft] Ocon in the Force India running in 16th.
He has got a long, long way to go to recover the damage
from the opening few laps.
Now he's behind Sergey Sirotkin in the Williams.
[Ocon] At that moment, I knew I had to push hard.
[Croft] Ocon might be going for it with Sirotkin.
He is going for it, you know.
[Joyce] Well done.
Currently, you're ten seconds behind Perez.
[Ocon] Copy.
[Croft] I think Perez is having a go. Is he gonna try and launch one?
He is, down the outside.
Perez swoops round the outside of Charles Leclerc.
[Wright] Good job, Checo.
[Croft] And he is now up into eighth place.
[Perez] I was doing a great, fantastic race.
And I was very lucky to have such a country behind me.
[all chanting] Checo, Checo, Checo, Checo, Checo!
[Perez] But then things changed quickly.
[whirring]
[Perez] I have a problem.
I have no brake.
It's very low. Very, very low.
[Wright] Checo, understood. Understood.
See if it improves with a bit of brake-cooling
after you've been behind other cars.
Maybe brake-cooling helps it a bit.
[Croft] What is the problem with Sergio Perez?
Kevin Magnussen is closing in in the Haas behind.
Magnussen looks to the outside and Perez with a big twitch!
He can barely get the car slowed down.
[Perez] I have no fucking brake, man.
[Croft] And here comes Esteban Ocon. Still in 15th place.
[Ocon] What's going on?
[Joyce] Perez has a problem ahead with brakes.
[Ocon] Copy.
[Croft] Ocon hunting down his teammate.
Sergio Perez losing out to Ericsson and sliding wide again.
Surely the race is over for the Mexican.
After a tough start, Ocon in front of his teammate.
[crew] Checo, we're gonna have to retire. We're gonna have to retire.
Caution stopping.
Look out for the guys. We'll stop you in the pit lane.
[Croft] And Perez has come into the pits.
The first time ever Sergio Perez retires from his home Grand Prix.
[Brundle] That is just tragic.
[Perez] It was really hard, you know, difficult to digest.
You work the whole weekend so hard with the team.
And, yeah, unfortunately we get that issue.
[cheering and applause]
I have all of my family, all of my people there.
My whole country is watching me.
And they all want me to do incredibly well.
It was very tough.
[Croft] And here comes Hamilton in fourth place at the moment.
He will become champion as it stands now.
[Joyce] So, Esteban, keep pushing.
[Croft] There's Esteban Ocon in the Force India.
He's really going for it here.
[engine revs]
This is a great blast towards turn one.
Ocon looking to the outside of Hartley.
Late on the brakes.
Wheel to wheel...
[bumping]
And they make contact. They've gone into each other.
A puff of smoke there from the rear of that Toro Rosso.
Oh, no.
Debris all over the track too from the back of the Toro Rosso.
[Ocon] I don't know if I have damage in the front or not.
Ah, fucking hell, nothing is going well in this race.
[Joyce] I think we have some more damage on the car, Esteban.
[Ocon] Copy that. Any advice?
[Joyce] We really need to try and catch up the group if we can.
So it's head down and let's push.
[Ocon] Copy.
[Joyce] Gasly behind. So watch out for Gasly.
[Croft] Onboard now with Pierre Gasly.
Is he gonna try and launch one? He is down the outside.
They come close but they don't touch.
[Brundle] Ocon there fighting for his racing career.
In my head I was like, "Focus, try to do the best you can."
[Croft] Ocon and Hartley at 220 miles an hour.
And Ocon is through.
-Go on. Go on. -He is now up into eleventh place.
[Joyce] Well done, three laps to go.
But all eyes now on Lewis Hamilton.
The man from Stevenage has done it once again.
A five-time champion of the world!
[crowd cheering]
[Joyce] Okay, checkered flag.
Well done.
[Croft] And Esteban Ocon crosses the line to finish in eleventh place.
[Buxton] The fact that Esteban came home 11th in Mexico,
I think, tells you everything about the guy.
He took contact on the first lap, and, yeah, he made contact later on
in the race, and many drivers might have retired the car,
but he still brought it home.
I find it hard to believe
that Esteban could end up out of a seat for next season.
[Ocon] My goal has always been to be a Formula One driver.
You know, I've dreamed of this as a kid.
And now, you know, I still have no seat for next year.
I mean, as a sportsman, first you have to believe in yourself,
but it hasn't been easy, for sure.
But I hope, yeah, people will remember what I did the last two years.