Sergio Perez could not fight for the podium with his Sahara Force India
Starting 4th, Sergio Perez aimed for the podium at the end of the race. He had to settle for the final 5th place. As for Nico Hülkenberg, his engine gave out during the installation lap on the grid.
After the qualifications, Sergio Perez saw no reason not to fight for the podium in the race. Ultimately, it seems tire degradation was one: « We had a lot of degradation with the soft tires during the first two stints. It was a bit better with the mediums, although we suffered in the middle sector with our low downforce setup. This affected my pace.
However, the ten points from his fifth place are welcome, especially when Romain Grosjean climbed back onto the podium: « *5th and 10 points are a good result, but we lacked the pace to really fight for the podium today. My start was very good, and I was close to taking the lead on the first lap being side-by-side with Lewis after Eau Rouge.* »
Nico Hülkenberg did not have the opportunity to try to score points as his mechanics failed him right from the installation lap: « On the way to the grid, I felt a loss of power. We tried to understand and fix the problem on the grid but it came back in the formation lap. Occasionally, the power would return but it disappeared again before the start and I had to retire. »
From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps
