Sergio Perez revealed that he “wanted to win the race” despite a “very special day” at his home race in Mexico.
Perez created history in Mexico, becoming the first Mexican driver to lead his home race for a few laps. He also became the first Mexican driver to step on the podium, finishing P3 in the process.
The crowd was backing Checo to win the race, but that didn’t transpire. Nevertheless, his third-place finish was amazing, and he could have finished P2 had he not run into the stubborn Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
Perez revealed that he “wanted to win the race” despite a “very special day” in Mexico City.
“Being on the podium at your home Grand Prix, it’s something very special,” he said, as quoted by Planet F1.
“I wanted more, I want to win the race, and obviously to finish 1-2 for the team would have been amazing.
“At the end of the day, we are such competitive people that if we finish third, we really don’t enjoy it. But today is one of those days that I must enjoy.
“The crowd and just seeing so many people so happy, and especially on the podium, like everyone that has been with me since day one, was on the podium. That was extremely special for me.”
Battle and war
Perez also shed some light on his battle with Hamilton, and said that it was a duel of fine margins that the Brit ended up winning.
“It was really close,” he continued. “There was a lap where it was so critical to do the undercut. Obviously, they pitted that lap, so we did the opposite and we went long.
“It was a bit tricky with the lapped cars as well. I reckon we all lost some time there. It was really close.
“Overtaking here is really difficult, given their straight-line speed that they were really strong on that. I didn’t have the chance.
“So a bit of a shame, because I think we had the pace to finish 1-2 today,” he concluded.
Read more: Verstappen lays into Perez following qualifying controversy – “Honestly, what an idiot!”