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Sergio Perez claimed he was ready to welcome Lewis Hamilton to the fight in the pursuit for second place at the 2022 F1 British GP.
The Mexican damaged his front wing after tangling with Charles Leclerc at Turn 4 during the second start of the race at Silverstone after the initial crash and red flag delay.
Sergio Perez was then forced to pit to replace the wing, dropping all the way to last place before he began his climb back up the grid. A late Safety Car following Esteban Ocon's loss of power helped the 32-year-old mount a challenge towards the end.
Having pitted for fresh tires, Perez was able to go on the offensive against Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, while also fending off Lewis Hamilton in a three-way battle for the two podium spots behind Carlos Sainz in P1.
Speaking to the media at a post-race press conference after the race, the Red Bull man recounted his entire GP, saying:
“I was unfortunate, you know, with Charles [Leclerc] on the first lap. There was not much room for three cars. And unfortunately, I took the worst part of it. I got front wing damage, which on these cars, they said that it didn’t affect that much, but for me, I had no front end. So I was forced to pit and basically I went all the way to last, and just recovered from there, lap after lap.”
Perez went on to add:
“Those Medium tyres were holding on pretty nicely and we got lucky with the Safety Car there at the end, which gave us a good opportunity to fight for the podium. And yeah, those final laps were what a great fight with Lewis [Hamilton]. It has been so long since we had a good fight, so I was ready to have him back. And also with Charles. He was very aggressive but fair and I’m sure the fans enjoyed it.”
Final laps of 2022 F1 British GP reminded Sergio Perez of racing in juinior series
Sergio Perez compared the heart-thumping racing in the final laps of the 2022 F1 British GP to racing in the junior series.
Speaking in the aforementioned press conference at Silverstone, the Mexican highlighted the pressure he was under after the Safety Car restart, saying:
“It was getting difficult towards the end of the stint. But keeping that pace, trying to open a bit of a window. I was fighting Fernando [Alonso] and Lando [Norris], trying to get the window on them. And then when the Safety Car came out, it meant that we were in P4. So then it was a good chance. And then it was epic final laps. Those laps really remind me of the junior series, you know, when we were all racing and having a lot of fun.”
The result helped Perez maintain his hold on P2 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 147 points to his name heading into the 2022 F1 Austrian GP weekend.
