Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembrey has praised Sergio Perez for his "exceptional" drive in the Australian Grand Prix.
Tyre supplier praises Mexican rookie's "exceptional" drive
Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembrey has praised Sergio Perez for his "exceptional" drive in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
While most of his rivals opted for two or even three-stop strategies as they adjusted to the new rubber, which was making its first appearance in F1, the Mexican rookie made just one stop on lap 23 of the 58-lap race.
Perez's ability to preserve his tyres enabled him to climb from 13th on the starting grid to seventh at the chequered flag.
However, both Perez and Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi were later disqualified after stewards decided the rear wings on their cars breached FIA rules.
Despite the 21-year-old's disqualification, though, Hembrey praised his performance and admitted he intially thought the fact he had made just the one stop was a mistake.
"We were looking and we all thought, 'He must come in. He's got to come in. What's he doing?' We thought the data men must be wrong and he must have had a stop and no one saw it," he told
The Guardian.
"We checked. We asked, are you sure? And we were told, 'Yes, he's done just one stop.' It was quite a surprise and very exciting.
"His driving style was also a factor and also the vehicle. It was an exceptional drive."
Even with the opening race weekend in Melbourne bringing less tyre degradation than had perhaps been anticipated, Hembrey doubted a run such as Perez's could be achieved on a regular basis.
"I would be surprised if it happened often again," he added. "And if it does we would have to look at what we're doing. What do we need to do - put qualifying tyres out for races?"
