After suffering a crash during opening practice at the Hungaroring on Friday that saw the Sahara Force India team sit out of second practice, Sergio Perez admitted that the team have had their weekend compromised, especially with a number of the upgrades brought to the race being damaged in the crash.
Perez will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from thirteenth as a result of the reduced running by the team while they investigated the cause of the crash, but remains optimistic that he can still take some points home with him this weekend.
“It hasn’t been the easiest of weekends so far,” said Perez. “I was very optimistic on Friday, before the accident, but what happened has affected us quite a lot.
“We have lost some of the new upgrades that we had brought to the race – parts that were working really well and were making a big difference. When we got back out on track this morning, I wasn’t particularly happy with the aero balance of the car, which has been quite unpredictable.
“Hopefully looking at the data tonight will help us figure out a way to fix it ahead of the race. Despite these challenges, I am still optimistic we can have a good race and fight our way into the points.”