Force India F1 team threatens warring Ocon and Perez with race bans
Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon have been threatened with race bans by their Force India Formula 1 team if they collide again after their Belgian Grand Prix clashes


The duo came together twice at Spa, with their second collision on the run down to Eau Rouge breaking Ocon's front wing and giving Perez a puncture.
With Perez and Ocon having previously rowed in Canada, collided in Azerbaijan and then clashed again in Hungary, Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer immediately said they would no longer be allowed to race each other.
Now he has declared the pair risk being dropped for a race as punishment for any further problems.
Mercedes adopted this policy last year after Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided at the Austrian GP.
Asked by Autosport if Force India would go as far as benching one of the drivers, Szafnauer said: "Yes. If it happens again, we have to figure it out.
"We would have to start thinking about who we would stick in the car."
The on-track clashes at Spa were followed by a war of words in the paddock, with Ocon telling television crews that Perez had risked both their lives and later tweeting that his team-mate had tried to "kill" him.
Perez took to social media to refute that allegation on Sunday night.
Szafnauer said he was particularly upset that Ocon and Perez had collided again as Force India had given them so many opportunities to keep fighting fairly.

"I am disappointed that they couldn't sort it out, and that the team has to now play big brother," he said.
"That is disappointing. But the team comes first and that is what we have to do."
Pushed on whether Force India bosses should have been harder with the pair when tensions flared earlier this year, Szafnauer replied: "If we would have done that initially, maybe this wouldn't have happened if we had rules of engagement.
"So you can say that we lost out on some points.
"But there is always that balance between the show and allowing them to race and pushing each other, and artificially controlling it, which we don't like to do."
Perez and Ocon were informed of the new policy in the post-race debrief in Belgium and a meeting will be held before next weekend's Italian GP to fully outline it.
"Before we lay down the law, we have to gather the information and openly discuss it with them," said Szafnauer.
"The rules of engagement will be changed. That is it.
"If there is no upside potential and only downside risk, then we hold station."
Ocon posted on Twitter on Monday morning that his post-race comments were when "upset" and "in the heat of the moment", adding that he appreciated Perez's apology.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen set for Italian Grand Prix grid penalty
Why Ferrari was the real winner at Spa

Latest news
Why physical fitness is an understimated challenge for IndyCar rookies
The lack of in-car physical fitness is an “underestimated” hurdle for an IndyCar Series rookie, according to Dale Coyne Racing's Indy Lights graduate Sting Ray Robb.
Bubba Wallace ‘got dumped’ by Austin Dillon in NASCAR Clash
Bubba Wallace says Austin Dillon “dumped” him out of second place in NASCAR’s chaotic Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night.
Albon warns Williams has "long road ahead" to recover in F1
Alex Albon admits that his Williams Formula 1 team has a “long road ahead” as it tries to progress up the field this year.
Toyota won’t put more pressure on Katsuta at WRC Rally Sweden
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the team won’t "put more pressure" on Takamoto Katsuta to deliver in his first drive for the factory team this weekend.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.