Sergio Perez followed up his podium in Russia with a fifth-place finish in the most unpredictable race in Austin.
“We are happy to come away with fifth place and ten points from a weekend with such difficult weather conditions. The track was very damp to begin with and I was lacking pace on the intermediates – sliding around with a lot of degradation,” the Mexcian said.
A talking point of the race was the differences between the teams’ speed at getting temperature into the tyres – something Sergio says he found difficult:
“Then, when we switched to the softs and eventually the mediums, it was not easy to get the temperature in the tyres and I struggled for grip with each restart. There was so much happening in the race and you really had to concentrate because it was very easy to make a mistake.”
Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg made a mistake and collided with Daniil Ricciardo which came much to the benefit of Sergio who picked up the two positions. The collision ensured Perez was Force India’s sole finishing driver.
“In the final few laps I was getting close to Max Verstappen who was struggling on the soft tyres, but there was not enough time to catch him. Overall I’m very happy for the team because we’ve done a really good job this weekend. The recent results give us real momentum as we head to my home race in Mexico, where I’m determined to give my fans something more to celebrate.”
