Sergio Perez admits a tinge of disappointment at not being able to fight for a podium at the Singapore Grand Prix, as the Mexican maintained his 100 percent scoring record at the event.
The Force India driver made an electric start on the full wet tyres jumping up from 12th on the grid to fourth amid the incidents up front, the crash for Daniil Kvyat, however, would prove costly as it came just when the intermediate tyres became clearly the best compound to use almost everyone to change.
Nevertheless, Perez, who was confirmed with the Silverstone-based outfit for another year before the race, would achieve his best result around Marina Bay with his seventh top 10 in seven appearances.
“I’m really pleased to come away from such a challenging evening with fifth place,” he said. “So many things happened during the race, especially on Lap 1 when it was so difficult to see anything because of the spray.
“At the same time, I’m a little disappointed that we missed out on a podium because I think the second Safety Car period didn’t help our strategy. We started the race on the full wet tyre, but we had to switch early to the intermediate tyres under the Safety Car and I lost valuable track position.
“Even so, it’s still a great day and a good recovery after a difficult qualifying session yesterday. This result helps our fourth position in the championship and continues my record of always scoring points in Singapore.”
Teammate Esteban Ocon also continued his excellent points-scoring run in 10th, making it 13 top 10’s in 14 this season as the Frenchman edges nearer to Max Chilton’s record of 25 consecutive finishes for a rookie at the start of his career.
The birthday boy, who turned 21 on Sunday, wasn’t so thrilled with his performance, however.
“I am not happy to come away with 10th place but at least we’re leaving behind a very difficult weekend – it’s not the best way to celebrate my birthday,” he said.
“I made a very good start, but I struggled on both the wet tyres and the intermediates,” Ocon added, explaining his problem. “This wasn’t the case in Monza, where I was much more comfortable in the rain, but something wasn’t working and I don’t know why.
“This dragged me behind some slower cars. After the track had dried, I had good pace but I just couldn’t overtake the cars I was chasing. It’s just very difficult to find an overtaking opportunity here.”
