Ocon hails ‘big’ final day

Esteban Ocon cannot wait for the new F1 season to get underway after a “big” final day behind the wheel of the VJM10 in Spain on Thursday.

The Force India driver covered a marathon 137 laps as he brought his pre-season to its conclusion at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Ocon’s best time for the day, a 1:20.161, meant he was third fastest on the day behind Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

“It has been a big day in the car and I am really happy with what we achieved,” said Ocon.

“We did some shorter runs in the morning and longer stints in the afternoon, and by the end of the day I was happy with how the car felt.

“I was satisfied with our pace and I think we’ve made really good progress with understanding the VJM10.

“The next time I will be in the car is in Melbourne and I am really excited about the start of the season.

“It’s been a busy winter with lots of hard work behind the scenes and now I just want to go racing!”

The 2017 F1 season gets underway in Australia on March 26.