Sergio Perez is pleased to follow up his Sochi podium with a strong fifth-place finish in the USGP, which gives the Mexican “real momentum” ahead of his upcoming home race.
Starting from P5 at COTA, Perez dropped as low as ninth during last Sunday’s action-packed contest but managed to recover to his initial position, pulling off several fine overtaking moves along the way.
“We are happy to come away with fifth place and ten points from a weekend with such difficult weather conditions,” said Perez. “The recent results give us real momentum as we head to my home race in Mexico, where I’m determined to give my fans something more to celebrate.”
Since his formative years at Sauber, Perez has established himself as an expert in tyre management and his US performance in tricky, mixed conditions brings additional evidence to support his reputation.
That said, the ex-McLaren racer felt he could have snatched fourth place from Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen in the closing stages.
“The track was very damp to begin with and I was lacking pace on the intermediates – sliding around with a lot of degradation. Then, when we switched to the softs and eventually the mediums, it was not easy to get the temperature in the tyres and I struggled for grip with each restart.
“There was so much happening in the race and you really had to concentrate because it was very easy to make a mistake. In the final few laps I was getting close to Max who was struggling on the soft tyres, but there was not enough time to catch him.”
Perez’ second strong points haul in a row further cements his ninth position in the Drivers’ standings, while it also helps strengthen Force India’s grip on fifth place in the Constructors’ championship.
The returning Mexican Grand Prix is taking place this weekend (October 30 - November 1st) at the renovated Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. This will be Formula One's first trip to Mexico City since 1992.
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