Sergio Perez reveals why he struck "lucky" with Lewis Hamilton restart error

Azerbaijan GP restart — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Perez reveals why he struck "lucky" with Hamilton restart error

Perez briefly dropped to second with two laps remaining in Baku

Ewan Gale

Thursday 10 June 2021 16:00

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Sergio Perez has declared himself "lucky" to get away with a poor Azerbaijan Grand Prix restart after winning for the first time as a Red Bull driver.

The Mexican claimed the second victory of his F1 career on Sunday after avoiding Lewis Hamilton's out-of-control Mercedes to pick up the pieces following team-mate Max Verstappen's red-flag causing tyre failure in the dying stages of the race.

With Perez starting from pole, a two-lap dash to the finish followed, with Hamilton's error allowing the Mexican to hold on and jump to third in the drivers' standings.

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But Perez has revealed that but for his own slow getaway off the line, he could have easily ended up colliding with Hamilton.

Asked what was on his mind for the second start, Perez said: "Well, basically that I had everything to lose.

"It was only two laps, I am on pole, it's our race to be lost. Just trying to do that perfect start and for many reasons, that didn't happen.

"In the end, we got lucky with it because who knows what would have happened if we had had a good start with Lewis having issues with his brakes.

"In the end, it all worked out but it just kept the tension on the fans and on us.

"I spoke with [F1 CEO] Stefano [Domenicali] after the race and told him 'You guys really like the show'? and he said 'Well, this is fantastic for the fans' and so on.

"It worked well for us but it obviously put a lot of stress just for two laps."

Red Bull can win championship

The victory came in only Perez's sixth race for Red Bull following a string of mixed performances as he has failed to put together a complete weekend.

But the 31-year-old insists the win validates the work he has put in since his switch after being released by Racing Point at the end of last season to make way for the arrival of Sebastian Vettel.

"I feel very proud," he added. "It is a victory that really shows the amount of work we have put in since the first of January.

"It just shows the hard work always pays off. It is a great boost for the whole team, to know we have two cars that can both fight and we can really win this championship."