Force India's Sergio Pérez believes there is “extra pressure” to qualify strongly at the Russian Grand Prix, as the Sochi Autodrom is a tough track for overtaking.
The Mexican driver suffered a poor qualifying session in China and started 18th on the grid, but recovered with the “perfect race” to finish seventh.
It was his 13th consecutive top 10 finish and with team-mate Esteban Ocon in 10th, for the third straight race, Force India now occupies fourth in the constructors’ standings.
Pérez, a podium finisher at Sochi in 2015, is wary that one-lap pace, which has not been Force India's strongest asset so far in 2017, is key.
“I said after Bahrain that I was very proud of my team,” he said. “We never gave up and dug deep to recover a great result.
“It was even more special because we continued our run of races in the points – it’s now thirteen consecutive races.
“When we qualified in P18, I thought it would be hard to do it, but we delivered a perfect race and really deserved this result.
“I think the start of the season has gone really well and we can be happy with the results we have achieved already.
“I have good memories from Sochi and our podium in 2015 shows that anything is possible. I think every driver enjoys turn four because it’s an unusual corner that puts high energies through the car.
“The rest of the lap is similar to a street circuit. Overtaking has never been easy so there’s extra pressure on getting high up the grid in qualifying.”
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