Sergio Pérez: “For me racing was dead”

“I’m speechless guys.” No need for words when the emotion is so strong. In tears after the finish line, Sergio Pérez could not immediately express his joy on his team radio. The testimony of an almost unreal race for him.

Hanging on the second turn by Charles Leclerc while he was chasing the podium, he found himself at the back of the pack after the first lap. “I thought racing was dead,” admits the Mexican. “But I didn’t give up, I came back up, I wanted to get the best possible result. In the end, my pace was high enough. The car was like a limousine. »

The Racing Point driver certainly benefited from the misadventures of Mercedes and the intervention of the safety car. But he went to overtake his teammate Lance stroll to the regular and owes its rise to itself.

He won Racing Point's first Grand Prix victory, and the first for a Mexican since 1970 and Pedro Rodriguez in Belgium. “I hope I'm not dreaming,” commented Pérez once the first emotion had passed. “I've been waiting for this moment for ten years. It’s incredible… Incredible” he finished.

This victory is also a snub to Pérez’s contractual situation. Replaced by Sebastian Vettel at Racing Point in 2021, he still does not have a steering wheel for next year. “Now I am at peace with myself. I no longer have the cards in my hands. And if I'm not Formula 1 next year, I will come back in 2022,” he concludes.