Sauber says Canadian GP podium shows Malaysia was no freak result

Sergio Perez bounced back from a difficult qualifying in Montreal, which left him down in15th on the grid, to finish third after a brilliantly executed one-stop strategy.

With that result ending a recent run of frustrating outings for the Mexican, and being his first points finish since he was runner-up in Sepang, his boss think the result is probably even more important than what happened back in March.

Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn said: "Everybody has been saying: 'the car is fast, the car is competitive' - but our efficiency in getting the points has been really bad.

"So this kind of result shows it was not just a one-off or a freak event in those Malaysia conditions, but that we really are there. It boils down to how we do our weekend and that we do not do mistakes."

Perez's chances in the race were boosted by the fact he was able to look after his tyres so much on a day when hot temperatures meant other drivers suffered from higher degradation.

Kaltenborn thinks, however, that it was not the weather that played the most important part in helping the team battle for the podium finish.

"I don't think it was the key factor," she explained. "We all know that tyre management is important this year but I think it would be too simple to reduce it down to that.

"We clearly have a competitive car and the team chose a very good strategy that worked out through many other reasons. Sergio did a fantastic job, the crew there with the pit stop which lately have not really been our strength, did a fantastic job as well. It really all worked out well and it is a great moment."