IN BEELD: Force India viert de podiumplek van Perez

Na een zeer moeizame start van het nieuwe Formule 1-seizoen, werd Sahara Force India tijdens de Grand Prix van Azerbeidzjan ineens verrast met een uitstekend resultaat. Sergio Pérez wist zich om de problemen heen te rijden en kwam prompt als derde over de finish. De Mexicaan sleepte hiermee een unieke podiumplaats in de wacht. Dat de Brits-Indiase renstal deze 'overwinning' dan ook groots vierden, mag geen verrassing heten. Wij hebben de festiviteiten even voor je in beeld gebracht met onderstaande compilatie.

???????????????? ! Sin duda el mejor equipo! Gracias @ForceIndiaF1 pic.twitter.com/6piqbcZtqW — Checo Pérez News (@ChecoPerezNews) 29 april 2018

Artikel gaat verder onder video

So, we had the whole team come together this morning to see the souvenirs we brought home from Baku... #SFIFamily pic.twitter.com/eu1K8EHSKA — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 1 mei 2018

SQUAD GOALS ????

(a podium finish in Baku helps) ????#AzerbaijanGP #F1 @ForceIndiaF1 pic.twitter.com/tVRizwj492 — Formula 1 (@F1) 29 april 2018

This is what it means to us. This is what it means to @jamesmoy, too. #SFIFamily pic.twitter.com/USKFHK5RuL — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 29 april 2018

???????????????????? #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/1BSrFoQlxK — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 29 april 2018

Time to take a celebratory Team Photo! #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/kz08bKRxr1 — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 29 april 2018

A hero's welcome for our man @SChecoPerez! #AzerbaijanGP #SFIFamily pic.twitter.com/kbjL0yGsPg — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 29 april 2018

The feelings of more than 400 people in Baku, Silverstone and Brackley right now. #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/azhxknxRzK — Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) 29 april 2018

Checo-tastic! ???? ???? ???? #azerbaijangp #forceindia #f1

Een bericht gedeeld door Sahara Force India F1 (@forceindiaf1) op 29 Apr 2018 om 9:16 (PDT)

The heroes are not just in the cockpit. Shout out to our crew and all our colleagues back in the U.K.! #SFIFamily

Een bericht gedeeld door Sahara Force India F1 (@forceindiaf1) op 29 Apr 2018 om 9:40 (PDT)

OTMAR SZAFNAUER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER “Huge congratulations to Sergio and the entire team on a fantastic podium finish in Baku. We have been quick all weekend and it’s very satisfying to convert our potential into solid points. Sergio drove a remarkable race, recovering from damage on lap one to snatch the podium finish from Sebastian [Vettel] with just three laps to go. He did everything we asked of him and the strategy was spot on, even allowing us to recover from a five seconds penalty. This result is down to a tremendous team effort and feels all the more enjoyable after a difficult start to the season and some unlucky races. Of course, it was disappointing to lose Esteban on lap one when he was taken out by Raikkonen because he would surely have scored points as well. The result gives us a nice boost as we return to Europe and shows just how much progress we have made over the last month to bring performance to the car.” #azerbaijangp #forceindia #f1 #formula1

Een bericht gedeeld door Sahara Force India F1 (@forceindiaf1) op 29 Apr 2018 om 11:24 (PDT)

Sergio: “I’m extremely happy. Our race was a rollercoaster. We started with an incident on the first lap when I was hit from behind by a Williams [Sirotkin]. That pushed me into Kimi [Raikkonen] and broke my front wing so I had to pit. I was at the back and then I was given a five seconds penalty. I was able to make my way through the field and when the Safety Car came out we managed to keep our position. The team did a great pit stop and I was able to serve my penalty and still come out in front of Grosjean. I was looking after my tyres because we only had SuperSofts left and warming them up was very difficult. I was struggling and every corner was a lottery, but then I saw the cars in front of me were struggling too. I passed Seb [Vettel] but then he recovered and put pressure on me. I had to give it everything in the last two laps: my pace was unbelievable and I think they were the best two laps of my life. This podium means a lot to me, I am very pleased and proud for myself, my family, my team and Mexico.” @schecoperez #azerbaijangp #formula1 #f1 #forceindia

Een bericht gedeeld door Sahara Force India F1 (@forceindiaf1) op 29 Apr 2018 om 11:26 (PDT)

We brought some souvenirs home from @bakucitycircuit... just in time to have a toast with our amazing staff and get back to work for more of this in the rest of the season! #azerbaijangp #forceindia #sfifamily

Een bericht gedeeld door Sahara Force India F1 (@forceindiaf1) op 1 Mei 2018 om 5:30 (PDT)