Sergio Perez damaged the front wing against Charles Leclerc at the restart of the race at Silverstone. The Red Bull Racing driver was forced into the pits to replace the damaged element, before returning to the track last. However, Sergio broke through to the top and finished second. At a press conference after the finish, Pérez commented on his race.
Q: Sergio, when you returned to the track in 16th after a forced pit stop, did you assume you could climb the podium?
Sergio Perez: You know, I had no luck fighting Charles in the first round. There was no room for three cars in that place and unfortunately I got the brunt of that. The other two cars received virtually no damage and my front wing broke. I had to go into the pits, from where I was the last to return to the track. There was nothing for it but to regain positions round after round.
The Medium tires held up really well and at the end of the race I was lucky that the safety car took off – I had the chance to fight for the podium. In the last laps I had a great fight with Lewis Hamilton. It’s been a long time since we’ve fought him, but I was ready. The same can be said about the fight with Charles. He behaved very aggressively, but honestly. I’m sure the fans enjoyed it.
Q: You said you were lucky with the safety car coming, but before that you did 34 laps on Medium tires. How hard was it to control their wear and tear?
Sergio Perez: Towards the end of the segment it got really hard as I was trying to keep the pace to create a hole for the pit stop. I fought Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris and looked for the stop to get back to the track in front of them. Getting out of the safety car helped me move into fourth.
Then came the epic final laps. They reminded me of wrestling in the youth series, when we all fought and enjoyed it.
Q: What was your reaction to the accident in the first lap?
Sergio Perez: First of all, it’s great that no one got hurt. I was told that Alex Albon had been sent to the hospital, but only for a preventive examination – this was not urgently needed. I am very happy that everyone is healthy and can get behind the wheel again.
I knew there was an incident in the beginning and when they showed a replay in the boxes I was shocked at what I saw. You know, it’s been a long time since that incident. It’s hard to watch and then forget to focus on your tasks.
Great job by the FIA, who have taken a long time to achieve this level of safety. I am sure that conclusions will be drawn from what has happened and that security will increase even more. The photographers standing there also took risks. I don’t know how, but we need to figure out a way to make sports safer for everyone.
And finally I want to say that I have heard proposals to limit the salaries of riders. But it’s us who take all the risks and put on a show, so I don’t think such talk will add anything to our sport. Most importantly, however, no one was injured in the race.
Source: F1 News
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