Force India on the ball in Monaco!
A great Sunday of racing for Force India in the Principality. The British-Indian team made the most of the weather to roll out a fine tire strategy. For the third time, Sergio Pérez scored a podium finish for his team. Another fine performance from Nico Hülkenberg, who beat Nico Rosberg to the line.
Who would have bet on a third place for “Checo” Pérez? Beaten by his teammate in qualifying, the Mexican, starting seventh on the grid, managed to pull off a successful strategy with three pit stops. In the end, after a long 48-lap stint on soft tires, he is back on the podium, following his performance in Sochi last October. But this time, the prestige of Monaco highlights his achievement even more!
In the image of Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Pérez experienced a great moment: *A podium in Monaco is a very special moment in a career. To be honest, it’s one of my best races, especially considering the race conditions we faced today. I had to concentrate very hard, as it was very easy to make a mistake.*
The Mexican knows that he owes a lot to his winning strategy: « The key to my position was the strategy: the first decision was to put on the right tires at the right time. It paid off because I overtook quite a few cars thanks to my stop. »
His race then continued well when switching to tires for dry roads: « Switching to slick tires was another decisive moment, as I had changed my tires very early. My soft tires worked very well, even though I had to manage them carefully under pressure from Vettel. »
The Mexican driver also did not fail to salute his boss, who is making headlines in Indian media due to his financial and legal problems: « Everyone in this team deserves this result. I wish to dedicate it to this Vijay Mallya in particular. » Indeed, as a reminder, the team principal is still in financial trouble with Indian banks.
A bit of disappointment on the other side of the garage. Despite his sixth place, Nico Hülkenberg thought he could do even better and that he wasn’t assisted by the pit wall: “This race will remain disappointing for me, despite scoring points. I immediately felt that my first pit stop wasn’t timed correctly, which put me in traffic and effectively ruined my race. It’s really very frustrating because I had the pace to be on the podium today. But that’s racing, these things happen, especially in Monaco.”
The powerful image of the former Williams driver will remain his near finish line overtake of Nico Rosberg: « I still managed to pass Rosberg at the end: the track was becoming increasingly tricky with the rain. I exited the last corner and overtook him by just a car’s length. In the end, I feel like I missed a huge opportunity. But the car performed wonderfully, which gives me a lot of confidence for the future. »
Rob Fernley, deputy team principal of Force India, is very confident about the rest of the season for his protégés: « What a race! It’s fantastic to celebrate our fourth podium here, the third delivered by Sergio. It wasn’t easy to choose the right strategy. Sergio didn’t make a single mistake all day.
Despite Nico’s disappointment, it’s a very special day for our team, who had been waiting for this for some time.
We are now up to fifth place in the constructors’ championship. We have shown the potential of our car. This race will boost our confidence for the rest of the championship: we will be competitive on many circuits!
