Sergio Perez: “Lewis Hamilton had the fastest car in Silverstone”
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Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez had a disappointing start to the British Grand Prix. On the restart, when Charles Leclerc went down his inside to overtake him, they made contact, damaging both of their front wings. Leclerc lost his right front-wing endplate, but the damage was more severe for Perez, and Red Bull decided to pit him. When they had collided, he was running 3rd, but soon he was relegated to the back of the grid.
From then on, it was recovery mode for Sergio Perez. And it was a very strong recovery indeed. When a timely safety car came out on lap 39 when he was running 4th, Perez immediately came in for a new set of soft. Then, Perez, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc put on perhaps the most exhilarating three-way battle in recent times. Perez was the winner among those three, as he finished second, but Carlos Sainz had already pulled away.
It’s possible that if Perez had not damaged his front wing at the start that he would have been fighting at the front along with Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton, and if Max Verstappen had not picked up floor damage as well, the fight could have been very interesting.
Perez thinks that his battle with Leclerc and Hamilton may have cost him a shot at victory
While the three-way battle between Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, and Lewis Hamilton was certainly exhilarating and immensely entertaining for everyone watching, it may just have cost Perez a chance for victory. By the time Perez went to second place, Carlos Sainz already had a good gap. In this way, one can say that when trying to help himself, Leclerc also helped his teammate.
Sergio Perez felt this way, and said: “If there were more laps (in Silverstone) we could have had a go but we fought with Charles and Lewis too long for 3 laps.”
When asked for his thoughts on the battle, Perez responded: “I had two aggressive drivers racing with me and it was all fair. It was to the limit and it’s how we should all be racing.”
Sergio Perez was also wary of Ferrari’s threat. Ferrari have certainly been up there on all tracks this season, and been competitive, but victory has often eluded them from strategic decisions or reliability. He said: “They (Ferrari) have been in the fight since the start. They had issues with mistakes and reliability issues whilst leading. But it can swing around easily and I hope they don’t win the next 6 races. Lewis also had the fastest car in Silverstone.”
The last sentence makes it clear that Perez is also aware that Mercedes, for perhaps the first time this season, pose a genuine threat in terms of race pace. Perhaps that is track-dependant, but the threat still has the potential to be there. Another exciting race like Silverstone will be very welcome for the fans, and in the past, the Austrian Grand Prix has certainly delivered on this front.
Also Read: “That has helped me a lot” : Sergio Perez contends that he’s had a boost of confidence at Red Bull
Also Read: “It’s all about respect”: Max Verstappen shares the secret to team dynamics with Sergio Perez
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