Press Trust of India
Mexico City, Nov 2: Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez helped Force India (FI) strengthen their hold on fifth place in the team standings by finishing seventh and eighth in the Mexican Grand Prix here Sunday.
It was a welcome result for Hulkenberg after retirements in Austin and Sochi while home hero Perez was happy to do his bit for the team’s cause. The 10 points here were vital for the Silverstone squad which is set to finish fifth for the first time, their best ever show. They have 112 points with two race remaining while their nearest rival Lotus are sixth with 71 points.
“As a team I think we performed extremely well today (Sunday). Up until the safety car we had worked hard to get Checo (Perez) and Nico in a competitive positions, and we made the right decisions when the safety car appeared,” said team boss Vijay Mallya.
For Perez, it was an unforgettable week as Mexico returned to the F1 calendar after 23 years. “What a week this has been here in Mexico! The atmosphere has been amazing and there were so many special moments,” he said after the end of the event. “The race today (Sunday) was probably one of the most difficult of my career because I was very unlucky with the timing of the safety car, which really didn’t help my one-stop strategy,” the Mexican added.