Sergio Perez currently sits twelfth in the 2015 Formula 1 drivers’ championship, but heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring with extra confidence following the introduction of the updated Sahara Force India VJM08 at Silverstone three weeks ago.
Perez admits he enjoys racing in Hungary in front of the enthusiastic fans, with the Mexican pinpointing qualifying as the most important part of the weekend, as the twisty nature of the circuit means overtaking is tricky to achieve.
“The Hungarian Grand Prix is always a cool event,” reflected Perez. “The fans are very enthusiastic and they show lots of support for all the drivers. It’s definitely an enjoyable weekend in a very historic city.
“The track itself is very technical: you need good traction to exit the low-speed corners and you have to be very accurate and precise. Because it’s so twisty, it feels like you are always in a corner and it’s not easy to follow other cars or overtake, so a good qualifying result becomes even more important. It’s also quite demanding on the tyres, so it’s important to look after them when you can.”
Perez feels a good result in Hungary will go down well with the mid-season summer break to follow straight after, and feels the b-specification VJM08 should give him a great opportunity to secure a third consecutive top-ten finish.
“It’s the last race before the summer holidays and getting a strong result in Hungary is always a nice boost,” said Perez.
“I’m feeling optimistic that we can go there and race for some good points, especially with the performance step we made at Silverstone. We are still learning about the new car, but I feel there is great potential to get some special results before the end of the year.”
