Sergio Perez ran inside the top ten in the early stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, but ultimately joined his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in retiring from the race with braking issues.
The Sahara Force India driver had moved into the top ten on the opening lap despite qualifying down in thirteenth, but a clash with long-time rival Pastor Maldonado saw the Mexican driver suffer an off-track spin, and was ultimately disappointed to see his race end prematurely.
“It was a really tough weekend for us, from the Friday to the Sunday,” said Perez. “We have a lot of reasons to be disappointed about the race because I feel we could have scored some really big points.
“The first few laps were very strong and we made up a lot of positions, but the contact with Pastor [Maldonado] compromised my race. I was as cautious around him as I could be and left him plenty of room but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
“After that, getting points was always going to be a challenge and ultimately some brake issues put an end to our race.”
Despite failing to finish, Perez felt that the car was performing well at the Hungaroring, and believes he can challenge for good results with the VJM08 in the remainder of the season.
“Looking at the positives, up until the clash with Pastor the car performed very strongly and this gives me the confidence we can really challenge for good results in the second part of the season,” added Perez.
