Agencies/Shanghai


A fortnight on from his superb podium in Bahrain, Sergio Perez (PICTURED) has struggled for pace in China and could only secure 16th in qualifying - eight places down on Nico Hulkenberg. The Mexican accepts his teammate has had the upper hand so far in Shanghai, but remains confident he can stage a fight back and reassert himself as a points contender today. Excerpts:

Q: Checo, for one moment let’s go back to the Bahrain podium: you’ve said that Formula One racing had almost slipped out of your hands after McLaren decided to take on Kevin Magnussen. Then you got a chance with Force India, a totally different team, and were paired with Nico Hulkenberg, who knows all the ins and outs of the team - but it was you who delivered their first podium in nearly five years. How does it feel to have done so against the odds?
Sergio Perez: Ha, yes, that Bahrain podium was quite something. In that race I was able to make the most out of every single chance that I had. I hope that I can have more such moments in the future. It was one of my most special podiums, especially after last year. It was a tough race - from the start all the way through to the chequered flag it was maximum push. The finish line was a big relief for me! (laughs)

Q: There were several teammate battles going on during the race. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s duel raised the most eyebrows, but your fight with Nico was nevertheless pretty tense…
SP: Of course you always want to beat your teammate - that’s the nature of the game. Beating them is the only route to success. But of course you also always have a responsibility towards the team so ‘don’t do anything stupid’ is just as important.

Q: Right now Force India are second in the constructors’ standings. Is that surprising for you? And will the table still look that way tomorrow after the race in Shanghai?
SP: To be honest second in the standings is a surprise - a fantastic surprise. We went into the season knowing that we are pretty good, but you never know until you really hit the track how good you will be. One thing I can tell all the others: don’t underestimate this team. Yes, we do have the Mercedes engine, but it is the combination of engine and chassis that makes a successful car, and that’s what we are pretty good at.

Q: So how about tomorrow? Another pleasant surprise for Force India?
SP: My guess is that this will be difficult, but then many things will depend on the conditions. We knew that this China weekend would be a tough one for us as we only have brought a small update, whereas some of our competitors came here with some quite massive changes. The goal is clear: defend what we have. Our big update will come in Barcelona and until then we have to ensure we don’t lose too much ground.

Q: So how is it going so far this weekend? It seems Nico has had fewer issues than you, but there are eight places between the two of you in qualifying…
SP: Yes, seems so. Yesterday I had issues with the DRS, and I have not been overly happy with the balance. Of course the conditions didn’t really contribute today to a better run, as it is always difficult to solve issues under such wet conditions - especially when you know that the race could potentially be dry. So I think Nico has been able to show the true potential of our car. We should be able get in the points with a good strategy. This track is massive on tyres - we’ve seen some graining on the front tyres - so tyre management will make quite a lot of difference. Even if qualifying was a bit of a disappointment, as I had difficulties getting temperature into the tyres, I am feeling pretty positive for the race.