Perez says he had no expectations of finishing on the podium in Canadian GP
Sergio Perez admitted that he had absolutely no expectation of finishing on the podium after only qualifying 15th for the Canadian Grand Prix
The Sauber driver made excellent use of a one-stop strategy and strong late-race pace to come through to finish third, having stayed out until lap 41 on his first set of tyres.
The result was Perez's second podium finish of the season, and saw him overtake Fernando Alonso - the man who had narrowly denied him victory in Malaysia - for third place in the closing stages.
"To be honest, starting 15th the last thing you think about is to end up on the podium," he said. "We went quite aggressive, the first stint was quite good, the stop very goo, and the second stint very, very good.
"We managed some overtaking manoeuvres, and then I saw that the degradation was not so high for me, I could manage my pace well and then I managed to get some other drivers."
Perez had not been in the points since his Sepang podium, so was thrilled that Sauber had been able to rediscover its form after some low-key races and a frustrating Saturday.
"It's a great result for the team after such a bad day yesterday," he said. "We had a lot of troubles with the brakes, and today it's just great to finish on the podium, it's a great boost for the team.
"After Malaysia it is our second time we get into the points and our second podium - hopefully we can keep it this way.
"We were really unlucky what happened in Monaco, for example, and Barcelona as well. It's great to come back and get a podium for the whole team."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
Hamilton: Ferrari F1 switch doesn't need "vindicating"
The story behind Shanghai's "painted" F1 track surprise
Perez: Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne
Sainz: Red Bull’s F1 advantage may be wiped away by Ferrari upgrades
The three factors behind Verstappen overturning Perez's real Suzuka advantage
Top five roles on Motorsport Jobs this week
Perez: Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne
Jota's first Le Mans car to return to competition
Why Porsche doesn't expect another WEC domination at Imola
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments