Sergio Perez: 'There was more speed in the car'

Sergio Perez believes his Force India had more speed than the results actually showed, having qualified for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix in 10th place.

“Although it’s good to be in the top ten, I’m feeling a bit disappointed not to be higher up the grid," Perez said after the race. "My hot lap in Q3 was quite difficult and I had a lock-up going into the Nouvelle Chicane – so there was definitely more speed in the car."

Most drivers faced problems in getting their tyres in their optimum temperature window and Sergio Perez was no different. "One of the main challenges was getting the tyres in the perfect working condition and I don’t think we maximised that today. We need to look at ways to make up positions tomorrow and we should be aggressive with our strategy because I don’t think there will be too many overtaking opportunities. Hopefully it will be an interesting race.”

Nico Hulkenberg was fairly satisfied with his performance despite missing out on Q3 by tiniest of margins. “A place in Q3 was very close today – less than a tenth away – but I’m not feeling too disappointed because I was pretty happy with my lap in Q2."

The German is confident of breaking into points with a good strategy, an aspect Force India have successfully exploited this season. "Starting from P11 with an extra set of fresh tyres gives us a good chance of scoring points tomorrow. It’s a long race and we have to be ready to react quickly with the strategy to try and gain some positions," he added.

With a competitive car and a Mercedes power unit, Force India have enjoyed their best ever start to a season with the Silverstone based team racking up 77 points in the first five races. They current stand fourth in the Constructors’ championship ahead of Williams and McLaren who share a total of 17 Constructors’ titles between them.

By Rachit Thukral