'This is how the collision with Leclerc brought Perez to victory'

Whereas most people will agree that a collision with a fellow driver is often not a good omen for your final result in a race, in the case of Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc on Sakhir, Mika Hakkinen thinks differently. The former Finnish rider speculates that the collision between the two ultimately helped the Mexican to victory on Sakhir. 

In his column Hakkinen explains the following: “The fact that Charles’s car hit Sergio’s Racing Point turned out to be critical, because in immediately coming into the pits to check for damage, and change from soft to medium tyres, the Mexican driver was suddenly on a much better race strategy.”

Hakkinen continues: “Sergio’s progress, from last through to the top 3, was really impressive. Guys like Red Bull’s Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon, who finished 2nd, are not going to make it easy to overtake, but Sergio’s race pace was very strong. He put himself in the perfect position to take the lead when both Mercedes drivers hit trouble.”

Anything is possible

Hakkinnen also argues that Perez's win is a victory for the sport, because it shows that no matter how dominant a team seems to be, winning and losing are still at hair's length from each other. Hakkinen: "Perez’s victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix on Sunday goes to prove that, in Formula 1, anything remains possible. The difference between success and failure is very small.”