Sergio Pérez said that the safety-car helped him to get into the fight for the victory in England and also highlighted the "fight" with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Silverstone for second place
Sergio Pérez left England with a much better result than expected, especially after a chaotic start at Silverstone circuit. The Red Bull driver damaged his front wing when fighting for position with Charles Leclerc and had to stop in the pits on lap six, dropping to the back of the pack. But the RB18's good pace - and a bit of luck with the safety car, as he admitted - put the Mexican back in contention.
After crossing the finish line in second place, Pérez described the final laps in England as "epic," and the intense exchange of positions between the frontrunners reminded him of racing in the junior classes.
"I was unlucky with Charles on the first lap," Pérez lamented during the post-race press conference. "There wasn't much room for three cars, and I ended up getting the worst of it. My front wing was damaged and I had to stop. I fell to last and started to recover lap by lap," he continued.
"The medium tires held up well, and I was still lucky with the safety-car at the end," acknowledged the Mexican, who appeared fourth when the safety-car caused by Esteban Ocon's retirement came into play. "That gave us a good opportunity to fight for the podium."
"When the safety-car came out, we were fourth. It was a great chance, and the final laps were epic," he added, recalling the lap-by-lap battle against Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. About the Mercedes driver, even, Pérez enjoyed seeing him in the fray again.
"It was a great battle with Lewis in the final laps. It had been a while since the last good race we had, and I was prepared for that moment again," he stressed, also praising the #16 Ferrari driver. "He was very aggressive but clean, and I'm sure the fans enjoyed it. Those final laps reminded me of the youth categories, when we all raced like that and had a lot of fun," Pérez concluded.