After the clash between Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon in the European Grand Prix, Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer of Force India, declared to Motorsport that they will be reprimanded, as it is "unacceptable" for two teammates to touch each other.
"The worst thing you can do is hit your teammate, because it gives other teams opportunities they shouldn't have had. We will review it in a professional way, talk to the drivers, and tell them it is unacceptable; we cannot send them out on track and have them touch each other," commented Otmar.
The chief operating officer of Force India explained that the crash between his drivers did not benefit 'Checo' Pérez, as it happened on a street circuit, so he had no opportunity to get out of the way due to the narrow track.
"It was quite tricky as well because it's a street circuit and on any other track 'Checo' would have been able to open up a bit and would have come out without touching. But here, there's a wall," he added.
Despite the fact that the Mexican driver claimed at the end of the race that he had a chance to win, Otmar Szafnauer believes they would have ended up in second and third place.
"I thought about it at some point, but I don't see it that way now. Vettel had his penalty for the restart, so we would have beaten him, and also Ricciardo. But without us causing the red flag, Hamilton's headrest wouldn't have come loose, so he would have won. We could have been second and third," he concluded.