Sergio Perez says his final 36-lap stint on the soft Pirelli tyre at last Sunday’s Singapore Grand prix was “one of my best performances in Formula One”, with the Mexican’s eighth-place finish moving Force India back ahead of Williams in the Constructors’ standings.
Having started on the ultrasoft, Perez switched to the hardest compound available at Marina Bay Circuit on the very first lap after the Safety Car was sent out for an accident that took his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg out of the race.
The Mexican, who has established a strong reputation as a tyre management expert over the years, went on to complete the longest stint of the night contest and recover to the points-paying positions.
“It was a special effort from myself,” Perez said. “I think it’s my one of my best performances in Formula One, to manage these soft tyres for 36 laps.
“I’m so pleased with how the race went, that we managed to secure the points. We’re ahead of Williams, which we needed to do. It was a very difficult race out there but we did an extremely good job.”
Although delighted to score points for the sixth time in as many races he has entered in Singapore, Perez admits in hindsight that pitting under the early Safety Car probably was not the best strategy.
“Looking back, I think we did a big mistake because we gave up the position to Esteban [Gutierrez] and that compromised our race, as I was stuck behind him and that prevented me from doing much progress.
“We effectively did one stop if you consider that we stopped on the opening lap for the soft tyre. It was a very long race. We did not think we would manage it until the end but we did.”
Perez’ four-point haul has moved Force India back ahead of Williams by one point in the fight for P4 in the standings.
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