'Crazy afternoon' delivers bag of points to Force India

From start to finish, there was no respite on Sunday for Force India's drivers, but Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon's relentless efforts paid off with a grouped finish in the points for the pink cars.

Up until the latter part of the German Grand Prix, when the weather threw a spanner into everyone's works, the battle in the midfield had been its typical scrap for position, lap after lap.

Running a solid first stint on the ultrasoft compound, Perez kept himself busy among the top ten. The rain and its sporadic nature provided another challenge however and it almost went all wrong when the Mexican spun in the middle of the pack.

• On the move Ocon inching closer to Renault

He kept it going however, and reached the checkered flag to earn for himself and his team a well-deserved seventh place.

"When you come away from such a crazy afternoon with some good points you have to be happy," said a relieved Perez at the end of the day.

"The whole race was very busy and I was always in the middle of the pack fighting the cars around me. I had a mega first stint, but we were unlucky with the slow pit stop, which cost us a few seconds.

"Then, when the rain arrived, it was very tricky and each lap was a new adventure. I spun while I was lapping Leclerc – I don’t think he saw me and I just lost the rear end," he added.

"To survive all these things and finish seventh is a good achievement. It’s just a shame I lost a position to Grosjean on the final lap, but we did all we could today."

Esteben Ocon's start from 15th on the grid also promised a busy day at the office for Force India's resident pink panther.

From the outset, the Frenchman battled in the second half of the mid-field but his raced livened up after his pitstop and when the weather took hold of events.

That, coupled with the team's perfect one-stop strategy, offered Ocon an opportunity to catch up with Perez and remain hot on his team mate's heels all the way to the checkered flag, although both men ultimately fell into the clutches of the fast moving Haas of Romain Grosjean.

"It’s a great result for us after yesterday’s disappointment. I made a good start and gained a few places in the opening laps, but besides that the first stint was pretty boring," explained Ocon.

"It’s only after the pit stop, when it started raining, that Sergio and I truly made the difference.

"We gained a few positions on slicks under the rain and it was really good fun. I had to evaluate the situation lap by lap, based on how much rain I could see on my visor and picking my braking points accordingly, but we never really had any doubt about staying out.

"To get in the points after a tough Saturday is a great result: we stayed solid, we believed in our strategy and in the end it paid off."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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