Yahoo Autos Race Team Bans Racing
Every race team, no matter the series, has rules for its drivers when it comes to competing against each other. Some only allow passing if there's an order from the pit wall while others let the drivers go all out, as long as they don't take out their teammate.
Force India F1 is one of the teams that has been letting its drivers go all out this season. Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez are both hugely quick and want to beat each other, badly, every single race. That attitude has resulted in a lot of bent equipment and bad blood between the two drivers.
Thanks to two fairly substantial incidents at yesterday's Belgian Grand Prix, one of which crippled both cars, Force India is changing its position on letting the drivers race each other.
In short, they're no longer allowed to. Force India's Chief Operating Officer and official Man With the Best Name in F1 Otmar Szafnauer told Sky F1 that the drivers will "never have that opportunity again."
The team was fine with the drivers going at it on track so long as they didn't damage the cars. Szafnauer believes that is no longer possible. He said that "if they can't do it in a manner which is good for the team, then they won't be racing anymore." If you've watched this season at all, you'd know that, well, it's not possible.
And it's too bad because they provided some of the best entertainment in the F1 field, on or off the track. Just look at what Ocon tweeted yesterday after the incident:
