Sergio Perez has said he is relieved that the Formula One summer break is finally upon us after enduring a tough phase of the season with Force India. The team underperformed at Hungary on top of the financial troubles they are currently going through.
Speaking after the race to the media, Perez admitted that it was a tough weekend for himself and the team, saying they lacked pace during the race to make anything happen.
“It hasn’t been an ideal race for us, but we knew it was going to be a tough Sunday all along,” he said.
“We started from the back and chose to go with an aggressive strategy, but in the end we just didn’t have the pace to make it work.
“I had a good start but lost some places after touching with (Charles) Leclerc and after that it was always going to be difficult to recover on a circuit where overtaking is very difficult.
“I am glad we have the summer break now. The last few months have been tough mentally but I’m still here and I’m in the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship.
“We will come back stronger after the holidays – all the off-track issues will have been settled down and we can come to Spa with the right approach and a stable environment around us.”
Perez will be hoping the dire situation with the team will be resolved during the break, with Force India forced into administration as a new buyer is searched for. The Mexican was asked by the team to help save them, forcing the courts to hear the case and eventually place them into administration having been fighting a winding-up order just one day before.
Not only is Perez's team's future in doubt but he himself could be on the move, with seats potentially opening up at Williams and Sauber as Lawrance Stroll, Lance Stroll's father, rumoured to be buying a significant stake in the team which ultimately could leave Perez without a drive next season.