How Sergio Perez Clinched Sensational Turkey P2 After Not Seeing Vettel or Leclerc “At All”

While there was no dream 1-2 for Racing Point, they would certainly be happy to see one of their drivers on the podium at the end of a dramatic Turkish Grand Prix. Long time Racing Point man, Sergio Perez came up trumps today, equalling his best-ever F1 finish with a P2.

The Mexican drove a brilliant race holding on to second place for 46 laps on old intermediate tires! The Mexican’s experience and racecraft came to the fore today and with that result, Perez moved to take 4th place on the Drivers’ Championship table with 100 points.

As if his performance in Istanbul Park wasn’t impressive enough by itself, what makes it even better is the fact that Checo could see diddly squat of who was behind him for the entirety of the race.

Checo told Sky F1, “My engineer was telling me the gaps because I wasn’t able to see at all since lap 1 of the race. My mirrors were full of fog so I wasn’t able to see at all. I was under a lot of pressure, but luckily I wasn’t able to see.”

This fact becomes even more impressive after the last lap drama that we witnessed. He was quickly being caught up by Charles Leclerc, Sebastian Vettel, and Carlos Sainz behind him before he conceded P2 to Leclerc for a brief moment.

However, to his relief, Leclerc locked up and Perez was able to move back into P2. But coming around the final turn, he had Vettel and Sainz right on his tail. Nevertheless, Perez hung on by the barest of margins to take home a well deserved 18 points.

Sergio Perez talks about his chances of getting a drive for 2021

It would be a great shame to not have someone of Checo’s ability on the grid next year. But with just 3 races left, Perez is still without a contract and is honest in his admission that performances itself aren’t enough to give one a seat.

He said, “The thing in Formula 1 is (that it’s) not 100% related to performance. There are so many things around a seat, around a driver.

“At the end of the day, it’s not in (my) hands. So I’m not really concerned, I really want to finish the season on a high and see what happens.”

The Mexican has certainly made a strong case for a Red Bull seat. But only time will tell whether he is the preferred choice for the Milton Keynes-based outfit or not.