Perez makes podium pledge after 'statement drive'

Sergio Perez was delighted to finish on the podium in Hungary for only the second time in six races after struggling with a troubled run of mid-season form that led many to call into question his long term job security at Red Bull.

Perez has not been able to produce consistently strong qualifying performances in recent races, and once again suffered more headaches at the Hungaroring on Saturday when he was only ninth quickest at the end of Q3.

That put him on the back foot again for the race, at a circuit known for being difficult to pass on. But a brilliant comeback saw him successfully force his way onto the podium by the time the chequered flag came out.

"From now on, I just look forward to basically being on the podium every single weekend," he said in the post-race interviews with the media in parc ferme. "So let’s keep it up!"

"We got close to P2," said Perez, who wasn't able to close the gap to McLaren's Lando Norris in time to gain that extra spot before the finish. "Unfortunately we had to go through a lot of backmarkers.

"The track was unbelievably dirty offline," he added. "So in the last laps, I had some pick-up going through the backmarkers, which meant I lost a few seconds.

• Read also: Verstappen takes historic win in Hungary over Norris and Perez

"I recovered towards the end but it was just too late," he lamented. "Anyway, overall it was a great strategy by the team and we managed to have an excellent result."

His performance today saw him win the official Driver of the Day pole, which should boost his chances to keeping his seat at Red Bull. "Definitely, this sort of performance and days help."

The most eye-catching moment of his race today was his battle with Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. He went round the outside of turn 1 on lap 48 and then ended up forcing Piastri onto the grass when the rookie fought back.

"We were on very similar aged tyres," Perez explained. "We pitted on the same lap, so we were on fresh tyres so I went for it around the outside.

"We touched into turn 1, and into turn 2 we touched again. It was close but hard racing." The stewards took a brief interest in the move, but quickly decided that they agreed with Perez and that no penalty was warranted.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised Perez and told Sky Sports F1 that the driver had laid down a marker with his strong performance this weekend after so much criticism.

"His recovery, his overtaking was brave," Horner said. "His pace was fast. The way he made the places, passing cars, passing Fernando, passing Piastri, the strategy that he had. He was on fire today!

"A race like that only gives you a huge amount of confidence," he added. "I think his overtaking, the bravery that he showed, for me that was really a statement drive today to say 'look, don't write me off'."

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