Force India extends double-points run in China

Force India enjoyed a second successive run in the points with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon following each other to close out the last two spots among the top-ten finishers.

The first few laps were a complicated affair which both men negotiated without any drama, save for a miscommunication mishap between Ocon and the team's pitwall.

Sergio Perez rued a poor start to his day after a slow launch off the grid and a contact with Lance Stroll's Williams which luckily did not lead to terminal consequences, although the contact did require a tyre change.

"It feels great to come away from an entertaining race with some more points," said the Mexican.

" The start of the race was not easy because I made a very poor start and lost five or six places before turn one.

"As soon as I dropped the clutch, I went into wheel spin. I recovered some places during lap one, but then there was contact with Stroll in turn ten, which gave me a puncture. I don’t think he saw me on the inside because he didn’t give me any space.

"You can always look back on the strategy and see things you could have done better, but I think we finished where we deserved in terms of car pace.

"It’s another great result for the whole team and our twelfth consecutive race in the points, which is a special achievement."

• Force India's Green amazed by 'incredible' Ocon

Esteban Ocon's performance was also to be commended after the Frenchman charged all the way up from the rear of the field to tenth.

The Frenchman was happy overall with his race but still felt he had perhaps left a few points on the table.

"Finishing the race in the top ten is a good recovery, but I still feel I could have been a couple of places higher up," said Ocon.

"We had the correct strategy and started the race on the right tyre, but on lap two there was a misunderstanding with the team and I drove all the way down the pit lane without stopping for tyres.

"I was not supposed to come in and it cost me at least 15 seconds. It was a result of the confusion of those early laps, when everyone was diving into the pits.

"It’s a shame to lose time like this, but in the end we scored a point and that’s a positive. The car felt quite good today and finishing in tenth shows we can make a good improvement on Sundays."

GALLERY: All the pictures from Sunday in Shanghai

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter