Sergio Perez says the late Safety Car at the Mexican Grand Prix “did not help my one-stop strategy”, and turned his home event into “one of the most difficult” races of his career.
Having started from ninth on the soft compound, the Force India driver pitted for mediums on Lap 19 and set about making his second set of tyres last until the end of the 71-lap contest.
After overtaking the two Toro Rossos of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, Perez was steadily running in eighth when Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel crashed and brought the Safety Car out with less than 20 laps remaining.
“We chose not to pit when it came out because we thought there was a chance to jump Nico [Hulkenberg] and Felipe [Massa], but in reality that didn’t happen,” explained the 25-year-old.
“Then the team told me that the cars behind had all pitted and fitted new tyres, so I was a bit worried because I knew the final fifteen laps would be very difficult.”
“The race was probably one of the most difficult of my career because I was very unlucky with the timing of the safety car, which really didn’t help my one-stop strategy.”
Despite being on 40-lap-old rubber, Perez once again lived up to his reputation as an expert in tyre management and actually managed to pull away from Verstappen behind to secure his third points finish in a row.
“To stay ahead of them and finish in eighth place is probably one of my best performances in Formula One and I’m very happy I could score points in front of my home crowd.
“What a week this has been here in Mexico! The atmosphere has been amazing and there were so many special moments.
“I am very lucky to have this huge support from my country and I will remember this weekend forever. I think everybody has enjoyed the energy of the crowd and this must surely be one of the most popular races on the calendar now.”
REPORT: Rosberg holds off Hamilton in Mexican GP as Vettel crashes
AS IT HAPPENED: Mexican Grand Prix
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