Q & A with Sergio Perez

Having said that, the 21-year-old is determined to get back in the points in the British GP and regain some of the momentum he had built up prior to his crash.

AUTOSPORT was there to hear what Perez had to say about his injury, his recovery, his season so far and why the best is yet to come from him this year.

Q. It's halfway through the season what are your thoughts so far on your debut year in F1?

Sergio Perez: Well it has been quite a bit up and down. After the accident I lost two races and also some momentum because it is not so easy to recover from an accident and to come back. But now I'm finally back. I think Valencia was a very hard weekend for me to come back, it was not an easy one because it was not so easy to drive in those conditions; a race distance. But I think now at Silverstone I will be better and I will be able to enjoy the weekend and physically I will be at a very good level.

Q. What is the most difficult thing to overcome, the mental aspects or the physical ones, from an accident like that?

SP: The impact I had in the head was not so easy to get that away from me. So in the beginning it was not easy to go in the car and after such a long time without driving. But I was up to speed very quickly and I think I did a very good job in Valencia. I definitely gave my maximum even though I did not score any points it was a good weekend for me.

Q. How much of the injury did you still feel in Valencia?

SP: I did not feel so much. I think it was okay but it was a difficult weekend.

Q. If you didn't feel so much, what aspects of the weekend made it so difficult?

SP: Physically it was a struggle for me because of the impact on the head. I still felt that it was not so easy to come back and jump in the car and drive again. It took me some time to adapt to everything again, but in the end everything was fine.

Q. Did it bother you that Force India made a step forward in Valencia?

SP: Yes that did bother me because they are our main competition; Force India, Toro Rosso. We are fighting for points with those teams. But I think this weekend will be a good for one for us.

Q. Do you think the rule changes will affect the order for you?

SP: Who knows? I think it will affect everybody, some more, some less. We will see.

Q. How will it affect you?

SP: I think it will affect everybody. To some people it will be more, some less. I think it might affect us less.

Q. What would you say has been the highlight of your season so far?

SP: I think definitely I would say Australia. My debut was a very good one. After Australia I haven't been able to show the speed I have even though I have had that in the last few races. In Turkey, for example, I was very fast, Shanghai as well. But I was not able to show the result in the end, but now I think I will be able to show what I can do. It is my eighth grand prix - I've lost two of them. I've done a very good season so far and I'm very happy with my situation and I'm looking forward to a very strong weekend here.

Q. Was the low point the crash or missing the races?

SP: I think definitely the crash. It happened because I was pushing so hard that weekend. I was giving my maximum in Monaco. It is one of those tracks where the driver can make a big difference. I was already in Q3, so I was doing a very good job until the crash happened, then I had to lose a weekend. And my team-mate, who was starting behind me, finished in fifth position. So it was a very good weekend for him, which could also have been for me, but unfortunately I missed the GP and I also missed Canada. In the end I only have two points, but it has been a very good season so far.

Q. What do you expect from the race tomorrow?

SP: I expect to be in the points.

Q. So is the target this weekend to regain some of that momentum you were talking about?

SP: Yeah I think I lost some momentum. I was going well after Barcelona when I scored points, after Monaco when I was having a very good weekend until qualifying. I think now in Silverstone it will be a good moment to restart that momentum again, because we have three races close together so July is an important month for us.

Q. You say Valencia was hard for you, but you finished 11th out of 24, and you beat your team-mate Kamui Kobayashi. Does having a tough yet still strong weekend give you confidence?

SP: I think Valencia was one of the best weekends in terms of giving my maximum, and also all the conditions I faced were very difficult. It was not so easy for me to come back and drive, but I did my best and I was still happy to finish 11th and for sure now I will be in a better shape for Silverstone.

Q. You only made one tyre change in Valencia, once again, is that down to your driving style?

SP: It's not only me, I think it is also the car. It is quite good on tyres and also my driving style is good for the tyres. I am able to change for the conditions and it saves the tyres when I need to. I think it is a combination of both.