For the second consecutive race Sergio Perez managed to go to the podium. After obtaining the third place in Turkey, the Mexican also repeated himself in Austin, finishing behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
The result came at the end of a particularly difficult race for Sergio. Perez, in fact, ran the entire race without being able to use the bottle due to a malfunction, and also arrived on the circuit on Sunday morning already weakened.
“Already in the morning I was not feeling well and from the first lap I could not drink” declared the Red Bull driver at the end of the United States GP.
“It was extremely tough. After 20 laps I was already gone. I had no strength in my hands and legs. It was a survival contest. Without doubt the longest race of my career ”.
“Now I’m looking forward to racing in Mexico. It was a shame not being able to get closer to Max and Lewis, but today I was physically limited ”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, first place, and Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, third place
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
In the final stages of the race, Red Bull decided not to call Perez back to the pits to mount a train of soft and thus blow Lewis Hamilton the additional point of the fastest lap. In such a balanced championship this could prove to be a mistake at the end of the season, but Christian Horner explained the reason for this choice.
The Red Bull team principal preferred to protect Perez’s third place, and an excellent overall result for the team, rather than favoring Max and making the Mexican lose the podium to Charles Leclerc.
“Calling Checo in the pit and making him lose the podium would have been brutal. Leclerc was too close. Looking at the overall result from the team’s point of view, it was better for Perez to take the points of third place and we decided not to let him return ”.
Horner then wanted to underline the excellent form of the Mexican. Perez, after having experienced a phase of fogging in the middle of the season, seems to be back toned and his feeling with the RB16B is continuing to improve.
“You can see how his confidence in the car is growing from the way he handled the race. He went to the podium for the second consecutive race and now his home race awaits him. He is finding the right conditions and it is something crucial for us at this stage of the season ”.
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