Sergio Perez was disappointed to lose the podium position to Max Verstappen, but called his fourth place at the Brazilian GP ‘an incredible result’.
The Mexican was relieved to finish the race at Interlagos, saying the treacherous conditions made mistakes easy.
Indeed, a spin on the first racing lap dropped Perez back through the field, but the Mexican was able to make up places as others pitted for intermediate tyres.
From there it was a relatively quiet race for Checo with Force India calling strategy perfectly as others struggling in the wet conditions, allowed the Mexican to rise up to third by the closing stages of the race.
“It was so easy to make mistakes,” he said. “You risked aquaplaning at any moment – every time I crossed the finish line I had a breath of relief.”
In the battle against Williams in the Constructors’ championship, a third-place would have been as close to perfect as Perez could manage for the Force India team but there was a Red Bull driver who had other ideas.
Max Verstappen dashed the Mexican’s hopes as he overtook Perez for third place in the closing stages of the race.
Perez praised the Dutchman after the race: “It’s a shame to lose a podium place in the last two laps, but Max just had a different pace: he was the fastest on track and there was nothing I could do to keep him behind.”
Perez said losing the podium place was ‘disappointing’, but fourth was still an ‘incredible’ result.
“It’s a big result, not only for me but also for the team as it brings us important points for the battle for fourth place,” he added.
Force India head to the final race of the season ahead of Williams in the Constructors’ championship. With a gap of 27 points to the British team, it may be easy to think Force India have the fight won but a lot can happen in Abu Dhabi, and they won’t be able to relax until they’ve crossed the line at the Yas Marina circuit.
