Formula 1 | Pérez admits he was ‘lucky’ with the Safety Car

Sergio Pérez had a complicated race, when he was last on the fifth lap after a collision with Charles Leclerc. The Red Bull driver was surprised to lose all downforce by only having one wing missing from his front wing, and he admits the Safety Car helped him a lot.

« I was unhappy with Charles in the first round » Perez said. « There was no room for three cars. And unfortunately I was in the worst situation. I had damage to the front wing. They said it had no effect on these cars, but it was like I had no front left. »

« So I was forced into the pits, I started last, and I was able to come back from there, lap after lap. Those medium tires were holding up well and we were lucky with the safety car at the end, which gave us a good chance to fight for the podium. »

« And yeah, those last few rounds, it was a great fight with Lewis. It had been a really long time since we had a good fight, so I was ready to put it back together. It was also good with Charles. He was very aggressive but clean, and I’m sure the fans enjoyed it. »

Initially, he hoped to be able to get Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris, who were behind the top three. The neutralization after the retirement of Esteban Ocon allowed him to make a stop, which put him back in the fight for the podium.

« It was getting tough towards the end of the stint. But keeping that pace I tried to open the window a bit. I was fighting against Fernando and Lando, trying to get a window on them. »

« And then when the safety car came out, that meant we were fourth. So that was good luck. And then it was epic last laps. Those laps really remind me of promotion formulas, when we were all racing and we had a lot of fun. »