Esteban Ocon accepted that Force India simply lacked the required pace in order to challenge for points at Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ocon arrived in Hungary as one of the in-form midfield drivers, having followed up sixth in Austria with seventh in Britain and eighth in Germany.
Ocon and team-mate Sergio Perez struggled throughout practice and both dropped out in Q1, with Ocon lamenting brake issues, as the squad suffered its first double elimination at the first stage since 2015.
Neither made substantial gains in race trim, with Ocon coming home in 13th, one spot ahead of Perez, with just Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and the Williams duo classified behind.
It marked Force India’s worst race result – in which both cars were classified – since the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix.
“It was a difficult race for us and we knew it was going to be a big challenge to score points,” said Ocon.
“The start of the race was strong and we made up a few positions, but we didn’t have enough pace to recover from the back of the grid and fight for points.
“I enjoyed some good battles with the Renaults, but the problems in qualifying yesterday really determined our result.
“We have a few weeks off now and there is still a long way to go in the second half of the season.
“Everybody deserves a rest so that we can come back stronger in Spa.”
Sixth-placed Force India is now seven points adrift of Haas in the Constructors’ Championship, and holds the same buffer back to McLaren.
