Force India: Ocon/Perez will be 'a handful' for rest of F1 2017

Force India expects its driver pairing will now be a "handful" to manage for the remainder of the 2017 Formula 1 season, given Esteban Ocon's recent form

Ocon caused some headaches for the team in Canada when his rapid pace as he closed in on Perez for fourth place left the pitwall facing a team orders headache.

That situation prompted Force India to consider changing its approach for the rest of the year, and its deputy team principal Bob Fernley is predicting an increasingly intense fight between his drivers from now on.

"We were very clear on our choice of Esteban and we believe he had that potential," Fernley told Autosport.

"You don't have to go that far back to see his F3 days against Max Verstappen.

"He was more than a match for him, so one would expect him to be at that level.

"He hasn't disappointed. If anything he has overperformed, so in the second half of the season it is going to be quite a handful."

Fernley believes that Perez still holds a slight edge in pace, but acknowledges that Ocon has closed the gap - and will only become stronger when he starts competing at tracks he has raced in F1 before.

"There is still a little bit [of a gap]," said Fernley.

"I think you will see it tightening even more post-Silverstone, when Esteban effectively comes into his second year with those circuits.

"Then we will see another step up, and that is when we will have to be on our toes as a team."

When asked how good he believed Ocon could be, Fernley replied: "I think it is probably too early to make those assumptions.

"What he has done is remarkable and great, but he has to get through a whole season.

"Even in Canada he showed remarkable maturity in driving to the limit, but not having any incident with his team-mate.

"Whichever way you look at it, it was great viewing and that is the maturity we are looking for.

"We will probably get a better idea at the end of the season when he has done the full season against Checo [Perez]."