Perez seals sixth podium in F1 with classy drive in the wet
Monday 13 June 2016 12:15, UK
Sergio Perez claims the best drivers in F1 stand up when the rain falls in Monaco and is delighted to have sealed a podium.
Perez jumped ahead of Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg as well as Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg through pitstop strategy and valiantly held off the Ferrari on the soft tyre.
It is the Mexican's sixth podium in the sport and he has developed a reputation of snatching any opportunity that should come his way.
"I was telling myself that Monaco with rain - it's a good opportunity to show my talent," he told Sky F1's Martin Brundle. "A good opportunity to show people what I can do.
"The best drivers were going to come out on top in these conditions so I'm happy I came out with such a result."
Perez's feat lifts him up to ninth in the standings while Force India, after a tough start to 2016, are fifth in the constructors' championship after Nico Hulkenberg overtook Rosberg on the final lap for P6.
At one stage, Perez was consistently setting faster laps than Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo in front and, with the leading pair on the softer but less durable tyres, he had sensed an unlikely race victory.
"I was really thinking that they weren't going to make it until the end with those tyres," he added.
"I was thinking to keep my tyres alive but at the same time keep Vettel behind because I knew if I gave him any opportunity he was going to go for it."
