Sahara Force India F1 Team’s Sergio Perez was left wondering what could have been after being unable to pass team-mate Esteban Ocon, who was saving his tyres when the Mexican closed the gap; nethertheless he would go on to finish in a strong eighth place after a battle with Carlos Sainz Jr. saw him lose out on seventh.
“It was a difficult race and I am very happy we managed to score some points.” said Perez. “We tried a very aggressive strategy to make up ground after yesterday’s qualifying session and we made a very early stop to undercut Massa and Sainz.
“We managed to do so and I passed Alonso on track, and then got close to Esteban. At the time, I thought I had much better pace because he was saving his tyres, but being in traffic really damaged my tyres and I fell back.
While he is unsure of what could have been, Perez believes he might have been ablet to hold Sainz off with better tyre management.
“It’s hard to know how things would have gone if I had got past Esteban – maybe I could have saved my tyres a bit better. When Sainz was behind me, I couldn’t do anything because his tyres were much fresher.
“Towards the end, I had a hard time defending from Kvyat and Massa, and I really struggled to keep Felipe behind in the last few laps. My tyres were on the limit, but I am happy I was able to finish eighth. It’s been a good result for the team so we can be happy.”
