Sergio Perez has claimed that the safety car spoilt his chances of a podium during a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix.
The second safety car of the race was caused by Daniil Kvyat burying his Toro Rosso in the wall on the exit of Turn 7. Perez had been chasing his former Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for third when they both pitted for intermediate tyres having started on the extreme wet tyres.
“I’m really pleased to come away from such a challenging evening with fifth place,” said Perez. “So many things happened during the race, especially on lap one 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.”
Despite missing out on a podium place, the 27-year-old was happy to have continued his impressive record at the Marina Bay circuit, as he continued his run of finishing in the points at every Singapore Grand Prix since his first in 2011.
Perez added: “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.”
