The Sakhir Grand Prix, which took place on 6th December 2020, was a treat for Formula 1 fans. The race had upsets and shocking performances that no one could have predicted.

The most notable performance was recorded by Sergio Perez, who claimed his first career win in what was his 190th appearance in a Formula 1 race. However, the most talked-about driver before the race was George Russell.

The Williams driver was chosen to drive the Mercedes car as Lewis Hamilton was unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19.

Russell’s driving was impressive, and if not for a few errors, he could have won the race. However, it was Sergio Perez who stole the show in the pink Racing Point car with his amazing performance.

He pulled off an amazing feat while displaying a wide range of driving abilities. We now get to revisit this race as the Formula 1 YouTube channel dropped an inside look into the race from Perez’s point of view.

Sergio Perez remains calm and continues to race

Perez started the Sakhir Grand Prix at 5th position and was racing head to head with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. As Turn 4 came around, Perez overtook Verstappen, but both drivers made contact with Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Verstappen went off the track and crashed into the side barricade. Perez was luckier as he did not incur major damage. However, he spun around and ended up at the last position facing the wrong direction.

Perez was informed by his race engineer to push on and continue the race. With the safety car being deployed, Racing Point had the opportunity to quickly fix the minor damage that Perez suffered and sent him back out into the race.

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With the green flag being waved, the race continued and Perez, now at 18th position, had to put his abilities to the test.

Sergio Perez & the art of overtakes

Perez, displaying his driving skills, gained momentum to overtake the cars ahead of him, going from 18th in Lap 7 to 11th by Lap 11. Taking advantage of Sebastian Vettel going wide, Perez overtook him.

Vettel refused to give up, but Perez managed to hold his own against the Rhinelander, chasing Alex Albon. At Lap 20 Perez put his years of experience to use again when he overtook Lando Norris right after the McLaren driver failed to defend his spot to Albon.

Perez overtook Albon on Lap 21 to take the 9th position in the race.

Early pit-stop

Perez suggested to his race engineer that they should pit early with the idea that overtaking being a shade easier after that.

Soon, another safety car was deployed, which led to both Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniel Ricciardo entering the pit lane & bumping Perez up to 5th place. He overtook Lance Stroll and, with the help of DRS, went ahead of Esteban Ocon into a podium spot.

Mercedes Double Pit-stop

With the safety car deployed again at Lap 63, both Mercedes cars went into the pit lane which led to a disaster. Russell was fitted with the wrong tires, which meant that it was go time for Perez.

Russell managed to catch up with Perez, but a puncture to the right rear tire required him to box again. That gave Perez the cushion to finish first.