Sergio Perez believes his efforts with the revived Racing Point Force India team during the Belgian Grand Prix resulted in what he described as an "almost perfect" weekend.
The Mexican was able to help lock out the second row of the grid with team-mate Esteban Ocon in a mixed weather qualifying session; Perez nearly didn't make it after having a massive slide in the middle of Eau Rouge while trying to make it back to the pits on slick tyres with a track getting wetter by the second.
After starting fourth on the grid, Perez and Ocon went to battle for the lead on the opening lap of the race by going four-wide up the Kemmel straight with title-rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Perez ended up passing his team-mate after the Frenchman backed out of his move into the Les Combes chicane and ran ahead of him for the rest of the race.
Perez eventually lost out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, but was still able to take fifth place at the chequered flag.
“It’s a great performance by the team and I think we executed an almost perfect weekend," said Perez.
"My only disappointment is from [qualifying] because I think pole position was within reach, but we can definitely be happy about the points we have scored. We just couldn’t have kept the top teams behind us in the dry so to be ‘best of the rest’, with Esteban right behind me, is the most we could have done.
"My start was really good and I was able to place myself in the right positions during the first few corners. After that, my pace was strong and consistent. I opened a gap and after that, I was able to control my race.
There was nothing I could do to keep Valtteri behind me – sometimes you just need to pick your fights and think of the bigger picture. I am happy with what we have achieved; we have scored some important points for the team and sent a strong message for the next few races.
"It’s a nice start of a new era for the team.”
