Sahara Force India driver Sergio Perez will start today’s race at Circuit of The Americas in fifth after moving up one position from his qualifying position due to the penalty for Sebastian Vettel.
The Mexican felt it was the right call to cancel the final part of qualifying as the conditions deteriorated, and felt it was a good performance for both the Force India’s to be so high up the grid.
“I’m very satisfied with my performance this morning, especially because in these conditions things can easily go wrong,” said Perez. “It’s important to stay focused and I think we did a fantastic job to get both the cars up on the third row.
“I believe the call to cancel Q3 was the right one as the track conditions were getting much worse. I am under no illusion that the race will be easy, there will be a lot of pressure and tension.
“I hope we will be able to race, the fans have been amazing and they really deserve a great show.”
Perez’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg will start the race from 6th, with the German driver agreeing with the decision to cancel Q3, and feels the team will be competitive in the race.
“It was a challenging session, but it was also exciting and good fun,” said Hulkenberg. “Visibility was very poor and the rain got very heavy towards the end of Q2 so it was certainly the right decision to cancel Q3.
“We’ve looked competitive in the wet conditions so that’s a good sign for the race, which looks likely to be wet.”
