Sergio Perez says his drive from 16th on the grid to seventh at the flag shows that the “pace is there” amid the ongoing speculation about his future.
The Red Bull driver’s car was rebuilt for Sunday after his huge crash in Q1 left him stranded down the order and with a tough task ahead given the tight nature of the track.
After initially losing out to George Russell – who started a place behind in 17th – he repassed the Mercedes driver and worked his way up the order, eventually reaching the position that team simulations suggested was the optimum.
“I have to take the positives,” said Perez. “We had a very strong Friday. We had a very strong race in terms of pace. The pace is there, so that’s the positive. The rest, I’m sure that it will take care of itself. It’s a matter of time.
“The most important thing is that the pace is there. And I really hope that for Belgium, I can be fighting back for the podium.”
Asked if the performance was an answer to his critics he said: “The noise is completely shut down from my side. I’m fully focused on myself, on maximising my own performance, to work with the team.
“And at the end of the day, the only thing that matters to me is my boys, my people, working with me.
“So I just have to give my very best to them, because they deserve it, and like I say, I think the most positive is that the pace is there. Not like a few weekends ago, where we were lacking the pace. I think that’s the most positive.”
Perez admitted that it hadn’t been an easy afternoon, especially with regards to his fight with Russell.
“It was very tricky, as we expected with these conditions and this track,” he said. “The first stint starting on the hard was a nightmare. We had no grip. I was behind George, I went off in Turn 2, so George overtook me, and it was just a nightmare.
“Luckily, people started pitting out of the way, and we caught up a bit. But I think that first stint was very tricky. I think the second and third stint, we had some good pace. We managed to pass George, undercut him, and I think finish the maximum we could have done.”
Regarding his costly qualifying crash he said: “I think yesterday we were just pushing out there at the wrong time, but it could have happened to anyone. The track just got wetter into Turn 8 as I was going through there.
“Some other drivers had a similar issue, but to a lesser extent. I think I take it as it is. Obviously I will learn from those errors, but they can happen to anyone. So head down, and like I said, the most positive is that the pace is there.”
Perez had an open mind on the latest upgrades for the RB20.
“We always have to look at them carefully,” he said. “I think they were in the in the right direction. I felt some good balance. But still, we are struggling with balance.
“I think more than the upgrades it’s just being able to balance the car all around, I think that’s what we really need in the in the coming weekends.“
Regarding his rebuilt car he added: “I think we were lacking few bits from the crash yesterday, the car wasn’t feeling on laps to the grid, we had a bit of an offset. So the car was not as solid as it was on Friday.”
