Perez keen on 'working together' with Ocon

Sergio Perez has admitted that he is keen on "working together" with Esteban Ocon in the 2018 campaign after previously clashing with his team-mate so many times last season that a banning order was issued which meant they could not race at the same time.

Despite the issues in 2017, Force India impressively claimed fourth place in the constructor standings, and it was only after this was confirmed that the ban was lifted on Perez and Ocon driving together.

Eager to see how successful the team can be if everyone is on the same page, Perez wants to co-exist with Ocon.

“The good thing was how we finished last year and how we ended it working together,” Perez told ESPN.

“That is the same approach we have to go into this year with as it is very important that we keep working together, keep working hard for the benefit of the team. Especially at this stage of the season.

“Now he [Ocon] has experience we have to push the team forward together to get the best possible result because it is going to be a massive year for Force India as there are big teams coming and big teams that are going to push us very hard.

“I believe it is going to be a hard year for us.”

Perez bettered his team-mate's final score tally by 13 points in the 2017 campaign, and although he thinks Ocon will continue to improve, he thinks he can emerge as Force India's number one driver again.

“You never stop learning in Formula One and he is going to have more experience but it is always good to have a competitive team-mate next to you," Perez continued.

“I believe that I will get better as well so it will be a hard battle but in F1 your first reference is your team-mate and I believe Esteban is a good one to have.”