“Nothing I can do” - Sergio Perez finishes P2 at Spa after Max Verstappen overtook the Mexican to win Belgian F1 GP

After a disappointing sprint race yesterday, Sergio Perez managed to finish second in the Belgian Grand Prix, making consecutive visits to the podium after a long time.

Perez's second-place finish wasn't a comeback drive that he had been putting up in recent weeks, as he started on the front row alongside Charles Leclerc. He quickly overtook the Ferrari to lead the race in the first stint before his teammate Max Verstappen rallied through the field.

The Mexican driver reckoned it was a good result despite finishing 20 seconds behind his teammate who started sixth. He admitted he had no answer to Verstappen's pace and he was happy to bring in a huge points haul for the team while consolidating his recent upturn in form.

"Yeah, it was a good race for the team. We started really well, we had a great start. We managed to go through Charles [Leclerc] which was one of the targets for today. And then on, I was just doing my own race," he said to Martin Brundle in the parc ferme interview.

"Then Max came through in the second stint really fast. Nothing I could have done there. Then it was making sure that we brought our cars home safely without damaging the car."

It was a repeat of last year's Belgian GP where Verstappen overtook Perez to win the race, having started 14th. This year, the Dutchman had much less work starting sixth on the grid. He overtook Sergio Perez on Lap 17 and kept extending his advantage from then onwards.

The reigning champion won his eighth consecutive race, meanwhile extending Red Bull's record-breaking streak to 13 consecutive race wins. Perez currently trails Verstappen by 125 points in the drivers' standings.

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Sergio Perez looking forward to the summer break after an "intense" last few races

Sergio Perez on the podium for the Belgian GP

Sergio Perez is glad that he heads into the summer break having stood on the podium in the last two races. Ever since the F1's visit to Miami, Perez's pace on Saturday had completely disappeared, leaving a lot to be done on race day.

The Belgian GP provided a much-needed change as he started on the front row and took home a P2 finish. The Red Bull driver vowed to finish on the podium from now onwards, hoping for a strong comeback after the summer break.

"Certainly, I look forward to. Don't leave the podium anymore from now until the end of the year. So, yeah, it's been a bit of a rough patch, but I think we have the car and we scored great points for the team," Perez said.

"Yeah definitely, I really need this summer break. It's been really intense, the last few races. So, I'll look forward to it and come back very strong for Zandvoort," he concluded.

The F1 circus takes a one-month break, before returning for the Dutch GP at Zandvoort on August 27.