Sergio Perez says he is expecting to be in the fight for a podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix after being left surprised by Racing Point’s upturn in pace at Monza.
Following Friday practice, Racing Point said the remainder of the weekend was damage limitation for the team as it was struggling with its low-downforce package.
However, Perez secured a fourth-place starting position for Sunday’s race, out-qualifying Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and ending up only behind both Mercedes’ and Carlos Sainz.
Perez says Racing Point has been putting a lot of focus into the grand prix, which he predicts will see it contend for a podium finish.
“We were not so strong throughout the weekend,” Perez admitted.
“I think the team has done a fantastic job, working our way through, they executed a fantastic qualifying session, session by session, we took some steps.
It’s a good start for us tomorrow, so hopefully we can have a strong start.
“I think everything what we have done, we’ve been focusing a lot onto the race, so I think tomorrow we are definitely in the fight for the podium.
“We are surprised….we were not expecting this step in qualifying. Everything we have done has been focusing on the race, so we should be having strong race pace throughout the race.”
Perez’s team-mate Lance Stroll also managed to qualify inside the top 10, but endured a tougher session to end up eighth overall.
“I’m happy for the team, Sergio did a good result,” he said. “From my side, I’m not extremely happy. Just some mistakes and not the cleanest qualifying.”
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