Sergio Perez opens up on US GP near disaster after running out of water on lap one
F1 preview: A lap at the United States Grand Prix
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Sergio Perez overcame adversity at the United States Grand Prix after running out of water on lap one. The Mexican produced a superb drive to finish third behind F1 title rivals Lewis Hamilton and teammate Max Verstappen, who went on to win the race.
However, the race could have been disastrous for the 31-year-old, who revealed an issue with the water bottle in his car left him without any fluids for the race.
Commenting on one of his toughest races yet, Perez said post-race: “I struggled massively.
“Since Lap 1, I ran out of water, I couldn’t drink at all.
“I think by the middle of the second stint it was starting to get pretty difficult, losing strength. I think my toughest ever physically.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner explained that Perez had been suffering with illness for the majority of the race weekend, making his performance even more remarkable.
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“Checo drove another strong race today. It wasn’t great for him as he was struggling with a stomach bug for most of the weekend,” Horner said.
“Not great to lose the fluid on a day like this today.”
The race in Austin, Texas, marked the second race in a row that Perez finished on the podium, which led to high praise from Horner.
The team principal added: “You can see his confidence is growing. That’s the second race in a row that he’s on the podium now, his home race coming up. He’s finding his form which is crucial for us at this time of the year.”
Horner admitted he was surprised Verstappen was able to hold off Lewis Hamilton to take the chequered flag in the States.
As a result, the Dutchman’s championship lead over the Mercedes driver has increased to 12 points.
“I really didn’t think he was going to pull that off,” Horner told Sky Sports. “Lewis, with eight laps newer tyres, and the first set of hard tyres that came off were pretty much down to the canvas.
“We were thinking we’re not going to have much at the end here but Max managed that tyre in the last stint to make sure that he had enough for the last five.
“You know Lewis at the end of the race is so strong and he had gone long and got himself an advantage.
“I think to lose in the last few laps would have been really painful but Max held on, he did a great job, managed the job really smartly, and had just about at the end there.”
A disppointed Hamilton commented after the race: “I think I gave it everything. I think we gave it everything we had and they [Red Bull] were just quicker than us this weekend.
“I had a great start. I gave it absolutely everything today, and just, unfortunately, couldn’t convert it at the end.”
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