Sergio Perez said the Bahrain Grand Prix had been a “perfect race” after climbing through the field to finish seventh.
The Force India driver started 18th on the grid after falling foul of yellow flags during Q1 yesterday and being knocked out.
“To finish seventh after starting from P18 is an amazing recovery and we can be very happy tonight,” said Perez.
“The first lap was very important for my race because I made up five places and was up in P13 by the end of lap one. I had great tyre life in the first stint; we stayed out as long as we could and the Safety Car played into our hands just when I needed to make a pit stop.”
“I think we made the most of every opportunity and the whole team – the engineers and the mechanics – played their part in executing a perfect race.”
Deputy team principal Bob Fernley said the appearance of the Safety Car was a mixed blessing for the team.
“Sergio was fortunate with the timing of the safety car, while Esteban [Ocon] lost ground, but that’s just the luck of the draw with a Safety Car,” he said.
“After a challenging qualifying session it’s very satisfying to get both cars into the points today. The team made all the right calls and Sergio and Esteban didn’t put a wheel out of place.”
Joao (@johnmilk)
16th April 2017, 20:01
3 great drives so far from Perez. In a era of cars that many said wouldn’t suit him. If he keeps this going that Ferrari seat could very well be his.
PStaffan
16th April 2017, 20:26
I would say 13-14 great drives so far from perez, taking points in 13 or 14 races in a row.
McLaren should grab him and throw out Alonso the complainer.
Palle (@palle)
16th April 2017, 22:21
@pstaffan Why would Perez want to go back to McHonda? Alonso don’t even want to be there. He opts to participate in another racing series instead of the F1 Monaco race and during this race he complained heavily over the lack of power: “I’ve never raced with so little power!” he said on the radio.
PStaffan
16th April 2017, 22:31
I think they will be better (than FI) next year (cant get any worse right?)
Uddipta jana
16th April 2017, 22:48
Do you even know what is the situation of McLaren honda? Why he is complaining?
Kie
16th April 2017, 20:28
You would like to think so, he can’t do much more
Juan (@korda-09)
16th April 2017, 20:56
Well, they either never understood or didn’t want to accept that the cars -tyres- didn’t “suit him”, he adapted.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
16th April 2017, 20:11
Perez is making the Force India look a much better car than it actually is.
Miane
16th April 2017, 20:40
I think FI’s car is slightly worse than STR, Hass and Renault. But the difference is very small and will change according to races. Williams is slightly ahead of them, but not much. I think at the end of the seasons Renault will improve a lot, but Palmer will be a problem for them, as Magnussem is for Hass. Ocon seems to be the best second driver in the midfield, what is very good for him right now.
Some Dude
17th April 2017, 3:20
Magnussen a problem? He scored the team’s first points this year!
I believe that the midfield car order is-
1.Williams
2.Haas
3.STR
4/5. Renault and Force India
Hulkenberg, Perez and Ocon are showing what great talents they are. I expect Perez to grab Raikkonen’s seat as soon as he leaves.
Here’s a thought, what if Vettel doesn’t extend his contract and Kimi retires this year?! Perez and Grosjean, Ferrari drivers?!
Sundar Srinivas Harish
17th April 2017, 16:37
I’d say that the midfield order is –
1. Williams
2. Clean air
3. Force India
4. STR
5.Renault
6. Haas
FI, despite one of the previous blogs showing that they are slower in Bahrain than last year, are doing remarkably well in terms of race pace and reliability. Haas has had 3 retirements out of a possible 6, and Renault hasn’t looked as competitive. If Sainz and Kvyat hadn’t mucked up on Sunday, a decent result would’ve been possible for STR.
Sundar Srinivas Harish
17th April 2017, 3:34
I think Magnussen is doing pretty alright. He’s no Grosjean, but neither is he a Palmer. Haas seems to be having major reliability problems, and hopefully their few extra days in Bahrain could help them solve their brake and misc. issues.
As far as Ocon is concerned, I think Wehrlein is showing pace as well (and shutting up those gossip mongers in the paddock), although it may be wiser to consign Sauber to “backmarker” rather than midfield.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th April 2017, 10:47
Something strange about Grosjean is that I think he is possibly one of the worst drivers on the grid when it comes to handling a car that isn’t that good. For example, Gutierrez was much better than him quite a lot of last year, resulting in Gutierrez beating him more often than not. But when the car is ok, or very competitive, Grosjean comes back and does stand out performances. But last year, the car was bad most of the time and Grosjean crashed, moaned, complained so often and IMO, Gutierrez handled the car better when it was difficult to control. I think this showed again this weekend. Grosjean really struggled when he was complaining all the time and he ended up crashing. But in the qualifying and the race, when the car was ok again, he managed just fine and did a great performance again. He at leased seems predictable now. At leased he performs and gets points when it is certainly possible!
Sundar Srinivas Harish
17th April 2017, 16:43
I can’t remember a time when Grosjean hasn’t complained, tbh :)
But he is a remarkable driver, and the only one who scored for Haas last year. Oz notwithstanding, Gutierrez was never robbed of point scoring opportunities, and always ended up in 11th at best. Another thing to note is that he displayed an ugly side when mechanical problems occurred, and someone in a vulnerable position such as his should keep his head down and power through. Ultimately, Ferrari did not come through for him at the end of 2016, and I think Romain is tactful enough to not get into a media quarrel with the management.
nickpr251
16th April 2017, 20:12
Awesome passes too, but being the most underated driver goes unnoticed, he is as usual driving the wheels out of that force india, however he has already the record of most consecutives points finish of the whole grid
Aquataz
16th April 2017, 20:42
Great driving, good luck & so-so car : he’s making the most of every chance and getting points out of thin air for his team.
Ju88sy (@)
16th April 2017, 20:54
Second choice for Driver of the day, Perez has really developed at Force India since that difficult season at McLaren. The team is executing well, gone are the days when they would just leave Perez out on a set of tyres to see what happens!
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
16th April 2017, 21:50
I hope Force India can perform of their mega updates so a “perfect race” for the pink cars can put them on the podium again.
The front half of the field’s a bit spread out this year, and it would be good to see Perez, Ocon, Hulkenberg and Grosjean breaking into the top 5 a few times. Williams and McLaren don’t look like doing that, unless they swap drivers…
Minardi (@gitanes)
16th April 2017, 23:57
No way FI should be ahead of Williams in the standings. Just shows what a difference drivers can make in the midfield. I Imagine Alonso in the Williams knocking on the podium every race.
13 straight points finishes for Perez- tops of all drivers.
Johnny L. (@eljohny78)
17th April 2017, 3:55
Great driver, deserves a better seat
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
17th April 2017, 5:55
Da Pink Mexican is on fayyah.
FERNANDO123 (@fernando123)
17th April 2017, 6:22
PEREZ ! DOTD
Illusive (@illusive)
17th April 2017, 6:47
The car has better race pace than qualifying pace as we can compare with massa, hulk and romain with their respective cars, but indeed it was a great effort from Perez.
Nigel
17th April 2017, 19:20
Another amazing job by Perez. Hopefully we will see him in red someday.
Chip McDonald (@chipmcdonald)
8th April 2018, 23:01
It’s a shame Perez had to put up with the Hulkenberg PR blitz for so long, and now the Ocon fan club. He’s always been better on his tires than just about anyone, and as consistently put his car above where it should be.