Sergio Perez was pleased with his fight back into the points after suffering a puncture on the opening lap of the Russian Grand Prix.
The Force India driver was caught up in the carnage at Turn 2 and had to pit with a punctured rear right tyre.
After the resultant pit stop, the Mexican fought his way through the field to pick up two points for finishing ninth. Whilst he would have wanted to repeat his 2015 podium on his 100th Grand Prix, he was somewhat satisfied with his result.
“It’s obviously good to come away with my first points of the year, but without a puncture on lap one the result today could have been so much better. I didn’t get the best start, but I found a good line going into turn two and I was ahead of Ricciardo and Vettel coming out of the corner. Then I realised I had a puncture, which dropped me to the back of the field.”
It looked for a time as though Perez would take eighth, but he wasn’t able to pass Romain Grosjean’s Haas in the closing stages.
“It was a recovery drive and I managed to get back up into ninth place just behind Grosjean. I had a quicker car and fresher tyres, but he had very good traction and I just couldn’t get close enough to make a move.”
Next up is the Spanish Grand Prix – the now traditional start to the European leg of the Formula One season. As such, the teams often bring large upgrade packages to Barcelona. Force India are no exception.
“There are lots of positives to take away from this weekend – the great performance in qualifying and the strong race pace. The car is improving and we have some upgrades on the way so I’m feeling optimistic ahead of Barcelona.”
