The Dutch Grand Prix was not supposed to be the best of his career, for Sergio Perez, who started it in the worst possible conditions. Starting from yesterday’s unfortunate qualifying, up to the change of the Power Unit (both MGU-H and MGU-K were replaced with new ones), which today forced him to start from the pitlane together with Nicholas Latifi, who replaced the front wing and gearbox.

This choice, however, will help Checo to have an additional engine in rotation in view of a fundamental stage such as the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, which will be held next week, a race in which all the teams will try to arrive with new or low-mileage engines due to the stress they are subjected to.

Starting in last position on a circuit where overtaking is very difficult, like that of Zandvoort, is not easy, but despite everything, the Mexican driver concluded the test with a brilliant eighth place after a trademark comeback, such as convincing fans to vote him as "Driver of the Day” in the “Orange” Netherlands.

From pit lane start to P8 finish - you have voted @SChecoPerez as Driver Of The Day at Zandvoort! 🏆#DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WOlzttbNr8

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 5, 2021

Harnessing the potential of the car and a careful strategy put in place before and during the race, Checo recovered positions after positions, fighting from the back and entering the points after a spectacular performance with his Red Bull.

¡Lo dimos todo para recuperarnos, ya tomamos nuestro motor nuevo, sumamos algunos puntos y ahora “full focus” para Monza!
¡Qué gusto me dio por Max y todo el equipo, un ambiente y apoyo espectacular! ¡Gracias! pic.twitter.com/MwC5Mi7LPw

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) September 5, 2021

Despite all these positive aspects, Max Verstappen's teammate expressed his regret on the final result of the race and, more specifically, on the contact generated with Norris during an overtaking action at the Tarzan corner:

“It was a shame," - commented Perez - "Because we could've reached the sixth position. When I passed Lando I suffered a lot of damage to the right side of the car, and I believe that all this was not necessary. I didn't have enough space and we touched each other, and the consequences were heavy for the car. "

The Mexican finally explained the move made by him and the team even before the red light came on, taking advantage of the bad qualification to be able to replace the power unit:

"We acted in order to limit the damage," - he explained - "Deciding to immediately change the engine and serving the penalty. Now it is already time to look forward to be able to come back even stronger in Monza.”