Sergio Perez felt the start of the Chinese Grand Prix left him on the backfoot for the rest of the afternoon, with the Mexican unable to convert his first top ten start of 2018 into a first points finish of the season.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team racer had started eighth at the Shanghai International Circuit but found himself lose a number of places on the opening lap, thanks mainly to being run out wide by one of the Renault Sport Formula One Team racers at turn four.
After that, Perez knew his race was compromised, and although there were positives to take away from the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, twelfth was the only reward, but he hopes for a turn of fortune in the upcoming races.
“It was another race ruined on the first lap,” said Perez. “The start was chaotic and I ran into a lot of trouble. I was pushed wide by a Renault at the exit of turn four and lost a lot of places there.
“That pretty much ruined our whole weekend. We were suddenly on the back foot, on the weaker tyre and there was very little I could do. We got close to the points and the team made a strategy call that gave me an opportunity to try and pass Kevin [Magnussen] but there was not enough time.
“We can focus on the positives: we are getting closer to our competition. Yesterday we took a step forward; we made another improvement today and I am confident that once we get to Europe we can start picking up some stronger results.”
