Perez surprised himself to crash out in Q1

The start of Force India's 200th Grand Prix will not be as good as Sergio Perez expected. The Mexican will start from 16th place, moving up one position as a result of Charles Leclerc's gearbox change penalty. Esteban Ocon, his team-mate, nearly made up for the loss narrowly missing out on Q3.

For the majority of the opening session, Perez was plum last on the leaderboard. Trying to attack and make up ground on a busy track was always going to be a challenge. A challenge that proved too tough.

Perez went on to admit he wasn't expecting to finish where he did this afternoon.

"It was a massive surprise, I was not expecting it," Perez told reporters in the media circle after the session.

Force India were starting to make ground on the likes of McLaren and Renault in the battle for the 'best of the rest' position. They might struggle to do that on a track that gives little opportunity for overtakes.