Mexican Sergio Perez has snared the first Formula 1 Grand Prix victory of his career in an extraordinary Sakhir Grand Prix, that saw pit-stop blunders cost Mercedes dearly.
Key points:
- Sergio Perez joined F1 in 2011 and has been on the podium nine times before finally winning
- Mercedes’s George Russell was fitted with his teammate’s tyres at one point and had a late puncture
- The 22-year-old was driving in place of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has COVID-19
Frenchman Esteban Ocon was second for Renault, his first top-three finish, and Canadian Lance Stroll took third for Racing Point on an unrecognisable podium as Mercedes’s race fell apart with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton ruled out with COVID-19.
George Russell led for much of the race and looked like capping a remarkable debut with victory on the outer track of the Bahrain International Circuit, until his team made a terrible blunder after bringing him and Valtteri Bottas in for another change when the safety car was out on track with about 25 laps to go.
Russell’s stop was a bit slow but nothing compared to Bottas’s, which took an agonising 27 seconds as the mechanics could not fit his left front tyre properly.
Russell was then called in again because the team had fitted the 22-year-old’s car with tyres belonging to Bottas.
Even with that mishap, Russell roared back brilliantly from fifth to second place and was closing on Perez when his rear tyre punctured with eight laps remaining, eventually finishing ninth.
“Gutted. Absolutely gutted,” Russell tweeted.
“It just wasn’t meant to be tonight but I’m proud of the job we did out there. We’ll get our opportunity again.
“Congrats to [Sergio Perez]. Nobody deserves a win more than him.”
Perez has been racing in F1 since 2011 but had never climbed to the top step of the podium until this season’s second race in Bahrain.
After failing to finish at the same circuit last week, Perez, who does not have a contract for next season, kept calm amid the chaos.
A clash on the first lap, which sent Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc out of the race, saw Perez spin out and fall back to last place on the track.
But he powered through the field in a performance that could have some teams considering offering him a seat for next year.
“After the first lap, the race was gone. But it was all about not giving up, recovering. This season, the luck hasn’t been with us but I think today we won on merit.”
He finished 10 seconds ahead of the Renault driven by Ocon, who climbed the podium for the first time in his career.
“I have no words,” Ocon said.
“I was crying on the line.”
Ocon’s Australian teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, finished fifth, behind McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr.
Reuters/AP
