Sahara Force India picked up six points with Sergio Perez finishing seventh in a drama-laden race in Spanish Grand Prix of the Formula One Championships. Perez’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, however, failed to finish the race as he retired early following an oil leak and fire.
Today’s six points took Sahara Force India back into seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship.
Perez said he was able to capitalise on the opening lap collision between championship leader Nico Rosberg and his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
“It was a very good race and I think we managed to get the maximum result we could hope to achieve today. We were able to keep some very fast cars behind us and we capitalised on the accident on the first lap (between Hamilton and Rosberg) to bring home a good amount of points. I had to fend off Felipe (Massa) in the last three laps: I was on very old tyres and he was closing in on me, but I managed to defend my position,” he said.
“This was pretty much the only action I had all afternoon; the rest of my race was quite lonely, which helped me look after the tyres and allowed me to defend in the final few laps. We had a good strategy that helped us leapfrog the Haas and brought us this good result on a track that has never been our strongest,” said the Mexican.
Hulkenberg said he was disappointed not to have finished the race.
“It’s frustrating not to finish another race. I saw some smoke coming from the back of my car and then it developed into a fire so I had to park quickly at the side of the track.
It’s a shame because I missed the chance to fight for points and we also missed out on learning more about the car in race conditions,” he said.
PTI