Sergio Perez admitted the support he has been receiving this weekend around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has been giving him a lot of positive energy after the Mexican driver secured ninth on the grid on Saturday.
The Sahara Force India driver knows the expectations from his home crowd for the race on Sunday will be high, but knows he will have to remain completely focused to be able to continue his strong run of results this season.
“I felt very privileged to be driving at home today and to feel so much support from the fans,” revealed Perez. “They have given me lots of energy and I’m extremely motivated to give them something to celebrate this weekend – that’s the best way to repay them.
“I think we did a good job today and we are in a competitive position for the race. We were aiming to be the last car on track during Q3 to try and make the most of the track evolution, but in the end it didn’t really make a huge difference. I think eighth was possible, especially when you look at the small gap to Max [Verstappen].
“For tomorrow expectations will be high, I know that, but it’s a very positive pressure and I just need to say focused, work through my usual routine and treat tomorrow as a normal race. The car is working well, we’ve done our homework, and I want to move forward in the race.”
