Fraser MasefieldHome hero Sergio Perez admitted it had been a ‘great day’ for both himself and his SportPesa Racing Point team after the Mexican finished seventh in front of his adoring home crowd.
Before the start of the race weekend, Perez had vowed to hive his home fans something to cheer. And he certainly kept his promise, making up four places from his grid slot of 11th on a one-stop strategy to finish seventh behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Honda.
“This is a great day for me and my team,” said Perez in his team’s race debrief. “I think the race was just about perfect and I want to congratulate the entire team for all their hard work delivering this result. It’s extra special to score good points in my home race – in front of the fans who have given me so much support this week. There were some cars that were a bit quicker than us today, but we beat them with a fantastic strategy. This feels like a victory for us.”
🎙️@SChecoPerez: “This is a great day for me and my team. I think the race was just about perfect and I want to congratulate the entire team for all their hard work delivering this result."
Hear what Checo had to say here ⬇️https://t.co/ir0Wckja86#MakeItCount #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/wMUYN0fBma
— SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) October 27, 2019
The strategy Perez alluded to saw him run the opening stint of the race on the medium compound tyre for the opening 20 laps, before pitting for the hard compound to take him to the end of the race. And with his tyres fading in the remaining laps, he had to use all of his experience to keep position from a charging Daniel Ricciardo by the finish.
“The race was so intense, especially the battle against Daniel [Ricciardo] at the end – when he was on fresher tyres and putting big pressure on me,” added Perez. “I had to concentrate so hard and push right until the end. I’m very satisfied with our performance and the points we scored today are important for the fight in the teams’ championship.”
Craig Scarborough
Motorsport Technology