Sergio Pérez

Perez, who was to start the race a place behind Hartley, overtook the Kiwi at the start of the formation lap – and the Toro Rosso driver only reclaimed position when both cars had already returned to the grid.This was in violation of the rules, and a post-race investigation yielded 30-second penalties for both drivers, as well as two penalty points on Hartley's license.Speaking in ...

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The pair shared the sixth row of the grid and collided on the first lap when Hartley's Toro Rosso spun Perez's Force India around at Turn 4 during early battling.Hartley received a 10s penalty for causing that incident and went on to finish a lapped 13th, while Perez finished 12th.But the stewards summoned both drivers to a hearing after the race to discuss a separate incident that ...

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Despite having one of the smallest budgets on the grid, Force India has finished fourth in the constructors’ championship for the last two years - only behind leading manufacturers Mercedes and Ferrari as well as energy drinks giant Red Bull.The way Force India has risen up the field since its acquisition of backmarker Spyker in 2008 has won the Silverstone-based squad plenty of ...

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Perez and teammate Esteban Ocon qualified only 13th and 15th respectively, although they will each gain a spot from a gearbox penalty for Valtteri Bottas.“It’s definitely behind where we expected to be,” said Perez. “We thought we were going to be a bit closer to the fight, but we simply were not."It’s a shame, but the season is long, and hopefully we can recover the pace of the ...

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Perez has scored four podiums since joining Force India in 2014, the most recent of which came at the European Grand Prix in ‘16.Although the Silverstone-based squad enjoyed its best season in 2017 in terms of points scored, neither Perez nor new recruit Esteban Ocon finished inside the top-3 in any of the 20 races.Perez is hoping to break his podium-less streak that now stretches to ...

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Force India has elected to test with a simpler version of its 2018 car and is set to introduce a big update package in the first race of the year in Australia.The decision appears to have left the team - which finished fourth in last year's championship - behind some of its main rivals in pre-season testing.While Perez acknowledges that Force India is not at the head of the midfield ...

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Force India has helped stabilise Perez's career and vice-versa; they make a lethal combo - one to watch out for this season. He is also the best person to judge Force India's key strength - one that's made them the talk of the paddock and the 'best bang for buck World Champions'. In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, the famous Mexican driver joins us on the show - ...

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Ocon joined Force India last season to partner Perez, with the two going on to clash on-track in Azerbaijan and Hungary – as well as disagreeing over their Canada battle - in their first campaign as teammates.The pair then collided with each other twice in the Belgian Grand Prix, leading Force India to impose team orders on its drivers.Ocon had approached Wolff for advice in dealing ...

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Perez's future in F1 was threatened after a difficult year with McLaren in 2013, but he has since rebuilt his reputation with Force India during the last four years.Perez finished best of the rest in seventh in the 2017 drivers' championship, 68 points adrift of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and 13 clear of teammate Esteban Ocon.He will stay on with Force India in 2018, but is aware ...

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Ocon, who joined Force India with just nine races of experience with Manor from 2016, scored points in 18 of the 20 races and finished just 13 adrift of Perez in the standings.In Motorsport.com’s team principals’ top 10 poll, Mercedes junior Ocon, who has a multi-year contract with Force India, was ranked fifth.“[Beating Ocon] is the main target [in 2018],” said Perez. “The pressure ...

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Perez and Ocon were under team orders not to fight each other on track ever since they collided twice during the Belgian Grand Prix in August last year,"The drivers have got a better understanding and have matured enough so that they know and we know how to behave," Szafnauer told Motorsport.com."So next season it should be a lot better."Perez and Ocon rowed in Canada, collided in ...

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The duo came together twice at Spa, with Ocon claiming Perez “tried to kill me” and the Mexican subsequently defending himself.It came after Perez and Ocon rowed in Canada, collided in Azerbaijan and the clashed again in Hungary - with Force India bosses enforcing team orders after the Spa clash.After the race in Belgium, Ocon called Wolff to discuss the incidents and growing ...

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Perez and Ocon were under team orders not to fight each other after they collided twice at the Belgian Grand Prix."We have got to understand how difficult it is going to be next year," Perez told Motorsport.com."We'll have the Renaults and McLarens pushing us hard. So we need to push freely if we are to be in the fight."We also need to have a car that is competitive from the ...

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Ever since the pair collided at the Belgian Grand Prix, Perez and Ocon have been under team orders not to fight with each other.But Force India chiefs have been clear that once fourth place in the constructors' championship was secured, then the situation would be reviewed.For Perez, he thinks it is important that the pair get their racing freedom back for Brazil and Abu Dhabi so ...

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Perez and Ocon were banned from racing each other by their team after multiple incidents in the middle of the year, including collisions in both the Azerbaijan and Belgian Grands Prix.Ocon said he had been pleasantly surprised by the positive welcome he had received from Perez's home fans in Mexico given this week given the level of social media vitriol towards him."I was expecting a ...

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Force India driver Perez complained on the radio during Q1 after being blocked by Magnussen through Turn 13 and 14"I had to use an extra set of tyres, which meant I went into Q3 with a single [fresh] set, so that hurt me a lot," said Perez, who went on to qualify in 10th position."He didn't do it on purpose, but they are quite often, him or Haas, getting it wrong. So I think it's ...

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Williams driver Stroll complained about being delayed by Perez on a fast lap during his first Q1 run, having encountered Perez in the middle of the Turn 16/17 chicane.But F1 stewards, including nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours Tom Kristensen, ruled that, while Stroll was held up, it did not constitute unnecessary impeding because Perez's position was a consequence of having just been passed ...

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The Mexican was struck down with an illness ahead of last weekend’s race in Sepang, and even had to go on a drip at one point to help him see through the event.But after what he called the toughest race of his F1 career, Perez revealed that he had only been able to go ahead and compete because  ...

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Perez admitted he was facing a "massive" physical challenge in Sunday's race, having struggled to breathe during Friday practice, and he continued to feel unwell in qualifying.Though he still felt under the weather on race day, he produced an impressive drive to finish sixth in one of the most physically demanding Grand Prix on the calendar."He didn't feel great," Force India chief ...

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The Mexican was struck down with illness in the build-up to this weekend’s F1 race, and has admitted that his form has suffered as a result.“I’m not so good, man! I’ve had a virus,” Perez told Motorsport.com after qualifying ninth. “On Thursday morning I went for a run and I was not at my normal level. I was struggling to keep up with my trainer.“I went into my room, took a shower ...

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Perez is seventh in the drivers’ standings with 68 points, while Ocon is eighth with 56 points. The Vijay Mallya-owned team is fourth among the constructors with 124 points.“Malaysia is a place that means a lot to me. It’s where I got my first ever podium in Formula 1 in 2012,” said Perez.“After Singapore, it’s another very hot race. I think last year’s was the hottest race I’ve ever ...

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