Sergio Perez felt Red Bull left opportunities on the table in the United States Grand Prix by not being more aggressive with strategy. From ninth on the grid, Perez climbed to fifth at the flag at the Circuit of the Americas, harrying Carlos Sainz for fourth place on a conventional two-stop strategy. However, the fight for fourth on the road actually became one for the final podium slot which went Sainz's way after P2 finisher Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for excessive wear to the plank under his car. That was good news for Perez in his hunt for second place in the Drivers' Championship with it being likely he or Hamilton will finish runner-up to race-winner and World Champion Max Verstappen, but he was left ruing a conservative approach.
Perez's Red Bull wish
"Of course, I would have liked a little more from the race," Perez explained to Viaplay before news of Hamilton's disqualification filtered through. "It was difficult for us to stay in the slipstream [of cars ahead] and be in the fight. "There were some moments where we could have made an undercut on certain people, but we didn't. "That's something we have to look at carefully, and there are things we can learn from." Fourth was Perez's best result since second at Monza five races ago as his lead over Hamilton in the fight for second place in the standings is now 39 points heading into his home Grand Prix instead of 19 had Hamilton's second place not been expunged.
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