Refreshed and reinvigorated after the summer break, Sergio Perez is ready to hit the ground running in Spa next weekend and hoping to add to his championship points tally at the Belgian venue.
While most of his past runs on the Ardennes track failed to deliver much in terms of results, last year Perez finished an impressive fifth, a performance he would be more than happy to repeat this year.
"The summer break was a great opportunity to relax, especially as this season is quite long and the races don’t leave us too much time to recover," Perez says.
"It was nice to spend some time in Mexico, with my family, my dogs and my friends: it’s always great to go home and I can’t wait to be back there later in the year when we come racing in Mexico City."
"The key to being fast around Spa is having a good rhythm and enough downforce to be quick in the corners without losing too much on the straights.
"You want to be able to attack and defend in sector one, but not have too little wing to be struggling in the twisty parts of sector two. It’s a fine balance you need to strike and it can make or break your weekend.
"There are many fast corners and you pay a price for all mistakes because it’s an old-school track with not much run-off. It’s one of the circuits where the driver can make a difference and bravery is rewarded."
Perez's season to date has been marked by a slow start, with no points scored in the first three races, and then a consistent run in the points from Russia to the European and a couple more top 10 finishes at Silverstone and Hockenheim.
The Mexican is now looking to pick up the momentum in the final leg of the championship.
"We have been really strong in the last few races before the break and hopefully we can keep this form in the second part of the season.
"Being in the battle for fourth place in the championship gives us a lot of motivation and we approach every weekend knowing we can be strong.
"I am enjoying my driving and working with the team, and I think we have everything in place to be competitive this weekend."
"Spa is one of the most historical tracks; one of those kids dream about, with legendary corners like Eau Rouge. You never get a boring race there.
"I have got some great memories from Spa: I won there in GP2 and I had a battle for the lead against Hamilton on the first lap last year."
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