Sergio Perez believes criticism he receives could be partly based on his nationality, making his victory in the Singapore Grand Prix an even more special way to answer them.
Max Verstappen had won five straight races to move to within striking distance of the drivers’ championship while Perez had only one podium in six rounds prior to Singapore, but he took his second win of the season with an impressive drive in tricky conditions.
“It was important to make sure we had good tire life. I honestly was expecting the track to dry-up earlier than it did. I think if George wasn’t out there, there will be a lot more people going earlier.
“But at the same time, it was such a tricky race. I think the keys to the race was to control the pace on the inter, have good pace when we need it, and the second one was to survive on the slicks in the beginning, because they were extremely poor conditions.
“I think sometimes people, when they’re looking at you, underestimate how hard it is, and how easy it is for us to make a mistake. We basically were going to few places where it was properly damp, properly wet and it was super, super tricky, to make a mistake.
“I had a lot of moments, so first of all, I’m really happy I finished the race. But secondly, to win this race. It’s super special.”
