Force India close to podium

Sergio Pérez quickly moved up from his tenth place on the grid by taking advantage of the incidents to rapidly position himself in fourth place. By the twentieth lap, with the race having been interrupted due to the conditions, the Mexican took the opportunity to fit new full wet tires.

Once hostilities resumed, Pérez stopped again on lap 28 for his final stop, fitting new wet tires. Max Verstappen’s strategic mishaps allowed the former McLaren driver to inherit third place, behind the Mercedes.

Unfortunately, his last stint being very long (43 laps) and the Dutchman being on a superior pace, he had to settle for a nice fourth place just off the podium. « What a fun but tense race today! It’s a shame to lose the podium in the last two laps but Max [Verstappen] just had a better pace: he was the fastest on the track and there was nothing I could do to keep him behind. Even though I’m a bit disappointed, we can still celebrate a great race and an incredible result, especially considering the conditions we had today. »

But the Mexican can rejoice in this position and especially in surviving a race of such epic proportions. Just crossing the finish line on a day like this feels like a victory, and bringing home fourth place is a very important result. It was so easy to make mistakes. You risk hydroplaning at any moment – every time I crossed the finish line, I breathed a sigh of relief.

This is a result that puts his team in a very good position for the final race of the championship in Abu Dhabi. It’s a great result, not only for me but also for the team because it brings us important points for the battle for fourth place. Many things can still happen in Abu Dhabi, but we can be satisfied with this result.

Starting just ahead of his teammate in the eighth position, the first laps for the German were good as he even found himself in fourth place at the time of the red flag. It was an intense race and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry because I think a potential podium slipped away from us today. I had great confidence in the car, felt comfortable, and had the pace to attack and overtake.

Hülkenberg resumes his race but becomes a collateral victim of Kimi Räikkönen’s accident, receiving debris from the Ferrari, forcing him to pit due to a puncture just two laps after the interruption. There were some scary moments in the race, especially when Kimi crashed in front of me. Some of his debris hit my car and caused a lot of damage. At least I survived, but I took debris, which was frustrating as it dropped me to the back of the grid.

Once his new tires were fitted, Hülkenberg had to work hard to climb back up the field, aided by opponents who took a chance on intermediate tires. After the second red flag, the driver with number 27 continued his climb to an unexpected but ultimately disappointing seventh place, considering his strong start. « Without the puncture, who knows where I could have finished? I’m happy and proud of myself and the team. We did an excellent job, but we’re a bit short on luck. »

The Indian team can congratulate itself on a good overall result before the last meeting of the season, which virtually assures them the fourth place among the constructors, the best ranking of the team to date.