Sergio Perez says missing out on a podium finish at Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix “almost becomes irrelevant” amid Romain Grosjean’s escape from a horrific accident.
Grosjean suffered a high-speed impact on the opening lap of the race that split his car in two, at which point it burst into flames, and is currently in hospital with minor burns to his hands.
Perez went on to hold third spot for much of the restarted race, seeing off the threat posed by Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, but smoke began pouring from his RP20 with four laps remaining.
Perez continued to circulate for another few corners but had to halt his car at Turn 9 as the MGU-K issue became terminal.
“It’s really hard for both myself and the team to take the result, but in the grand scheme of things, it almost becomes irrelevant after Romain’s crash at the start,” said Perez.
“At the end of the day, it’s either one more or one less podium or trophy for me, but the important thing is that Romain is still with us and that he’s ok. I wish him all the best.
“It was certainly hard to get back into the car after seeing something like that, but you just have to focus and prepare for the race.
“I think we executed a perfect race and the podium was definitely ours – it was going to be one of my best in Formula 1.
“It was gutting to retire with three laps left due to an MGU-K electrical issue. We were going to finish ahead of a Red Bull and a Mercedes, which is a great credit to all of us at the team, and we’d done such a good job all weekend too.
“We’ve lost out on some really important points, which makes it a bit more difficult in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship battles, but the positive is that there are still two more races to make up for it.”
Racing Point failed to score in Bahrain after Lance Stroll was flipped by Daniil Kvyat on the opening lap of the restarted race.
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