BWT Racing Point F1 Team was in the fight for a podium at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, but sadly they saw it slip through their fingers.
After Lewis Hamilton was handed a five second time penalty for a collision with Alexander Albon in turn four on lap 61, Sergio Perez was in place to get a podium, however the Mexican had to fend of cars with fresher tyres that pitted under the safety car. He was also handed a five second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Luckily, a points paying finish was still on the cards for Perez however, as he finished in sixth, the same position he started the race in, to bring home eight points.
Post-race, Perez lamented the poor luck the team had but was still happy with the car,
“We had to fight hard today and we had strong pace. Sixth place is a good way to start the season, but we could have finished even higher,” he said in a press release.
“We were unlucky with the safety cars, but it’s easy to say after the race that we should have pitted a second time. I had to defend from drivers on fresher tyres in the final laps, which was a challenge.
“However, this was a good race to learn plenty about the car and our performance. The main positive is that we have a competitive package and I think we can be fighting for another strong result here next week.”
Lance Stroll however was not as fortunate as his teammate, with the Canadian struck by engine issues forcing a retirement on Lap 22.
Stroll was happy with the car while it was operating and reckons he could have been in the fight with his teammate had he not been so unlucky.
“It was a good start to the race, but then I began to lose power early on. We tried to make some changes to various settings, but eventually we had to retire the car,” he said.
“We’ll look into the problem and come back stronger next time. The car felt good at first and I think our pace would have been strong. We could have scored a good amount of points today.”
