F1 | Red Bull, Sergio Perez: “Exhausting race, but I'm happy to be on the podium”

Sergio Perez takes the third podium with Red Bull in Türkiye. The Mexican, sixth at the start, immediately puts himself in front of Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri, remaining behind Charles Leclerc. The spotlight turns on him when Lewis Hamilton arrives to take fourth position, but Perez isn't up for it and the two engage in an exciting battle; the Mexican then returns to the pits, awaiting the moves of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, both determined to finish the race on a single set of intermediates. The two both return to the pits: the Mercedes returns to the track in fifth position, while the Monegasque's Ferrari manages to return to third position, but Leclerc immediately ruins the rears and Perez takes advantage of this to take the podium. Red Bull therefore places two drivers on the podium on the weekend in which the partnership with the Japanese manufacturer Honda is celebrated.

"This podium is really special because it wasn't an easy race for me, it was hard and exhausting in certain situations, so I'm very happy. It's been a while since the last time and I think in the last two or three races we should have been on the podium, but we were unlucky – explained Checo – I had a good start, I think there was contact between Fernando and Pierre in turn one, and there were three of us and I thought we wouldn't get to the end of the corner, but in the end it went well. After that I didn't feel comfortable in the first stint and lost a lot of ground, but in the second stint I managed to push at the right time and get the podium. Lewis was approaching very quickly while I was struggling a lot with the tyres, he had a good pace and I think he could have caught me, but then we put on a good fight and I was the winner. Lewis is a top driver and it's great to race against him. When I was on the podium I saw a lot of Mexican flags in the stands, we are a long way from home but it was nice to see them. I think there is a lot to learn from in this race, it's a great result for the team, now focus on Austin".