Perez says it 'hurt' to lose P5 on last lap as he’s cleared over Albon incident

A fight from beginning to end – that’s how Sergio Perez described his Belgian Grand Prix. The Mexican eventually crossed the line in sixth place to earn eight valuable points – but it could have been two points more had he not been passed by Alex Albon on the very last lap.

In the aftermath of the race at Spa-Francorchamps, Perez -who started seventh - was called before the stewards as they investigated whether he had forced Albon off the track during the Thai driver’s daring overtake, which saw him take to the grass down the Kemmel Straight.

In the end they decided to take no further action, with Perez and Albon both describing it as 'hard racing' even if there was potential danger.

Perez later admitted he’d been helpless to keep the Red Bull behind.

“It was a very hard race all the way through, from the beginning to the end fighting,” said the Racing Point driver. “It was very hard. Luckily we managed to bring the car home with good points.

“In the end Albon was very strong so there was no chance to hold him. It hurts to lose a positon on the last lap, but he did a good job.

“I think our strategy was quite aggressive, so we paid the price towards the end of the race.”

Perez’s sixth place was backed up by team mate Lance Stroll’s P10, as Racing Point scored with both drivers for just the second time this year. But the Mexican admitted there would be no celebrations on Sunday evening, his mind still very much on Anthoine Hubert.

“I think not one of us wants to be here today. It’s been such a sad day for our community, for our family. All we can do is to give this race to Anthoine, because it’s the very least he deserves, his family and friends. A very sad day.”

With his first points finish since Azerbaijan, Perez now sits in the middle of a tightly packed midfield group in the drivers' standings, with just eight points splitting Albon in 10th and Kevin Magnussen in 16th.