Racing Point’s Sergio Perez described his last-lap pass on Lando Norris as one of the best of his career, as he moved to the front of the midfield battle in Abu Dhabi.
Perez lost ground early on but extended his first stint on Mediums before coming on for Hard tyres during the closing stages.
Perez worked his way past rivals, and gained when others switched to a two-stop strategy, and reeled in Norris through the final lap.
Norris defended the inside into Turn 11 but Perez went around the outside to capture the position, sealing seventh in the race, and ensuring he capped the year with a run of six straight points finishes.
“The first part [of the race] was very messy, I got a big hit from [Pierre] Gasly which made me lose a position to [Kevin] Magnussen, and then DRS wasn’t working so I spent a lot of the race behind him, I lost a lot of track time,” said Perez.
“Then it was a case of being patient, I had some free air to push, and we did a very intelligent race, pushing when we needed and then the last move on Lando was one of the best of my career.
“Into Turn 11 he dived on the inside and I went on the outside.
“Also great for him as he’s very young, very aggressive but fair, and it’s always great to fight drivers like him, it’s great to be always very close and fair, there’s never going to be contact, good racing on the last lap.”
Perez’s result also ensured he finished in the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship for a sixth straight season.
“As a driver in Formula 1 I can only be pleased with what I managed to achieve,” he said.
“I finished P7 [in the race], top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship, with a car throughout the season that was not around there.
“I beat drivers with faster cars so in that regard yeah I can be pleased, some [results] were done by strategy, some by driving, some by mistakes by others.
“We were always there to pick up the points and I think we had a very strong second half [of the season] so I’m pleased with that.”
