Perez: Every time I am here it’s so emotional

In an interview ahead of his home race this Sunday in Mexico City, Perez said of competing at the Mexican Grand Prix, "I enjoy it massively. Every time I am here it’s so emotional. It’s so big, I enjoy it a lot and I get so much support from the whole country – it’s amazing."

"When we first came back to Mexico, I was surprised to see just how many people are into the sport, how passionate they are about it – it really shocked me, but in a good way."

“You definitely have a lot more appointments over the weekend and it’s not the best preparation. But you have to remember that you receive a lot of support from the fans from your country, and there are also a number of sponsors, so it’s part of the process."

Force India are in a happy place right now, but before the summer things were dire with many predicting the demise of the team before September. But salvation came along in the form of billionaire Lance Stroll and his Racing Point consortium of very rich pals to rescue the team from oblivion.

Perez triggered the administration proceedings by claiming four million euros in outstanding salary, what followed is well documented and as a result the future is secure for the Silverstone based team.

The Mexican recalled, "It was a massive thing. I don’t think many people would have done it. But people back home, people in the team, all the mechanics, all the engineers, all the people work here, I think they appreciate the call I made."

"The most important thing was to save the jobs of the people at the team. There are more than 400 people working there and that was the priority for me. More than anything else, even more than having a bright future for the team, the priority was to save our jobs."

“I feel happy with what I have done for the team. I’m pleased with the decisions I made. It was a tough call to make but I did it for all the people I’ve been working with for so long.”P

Perhaps a sign of good times ahead came at the first race as Racing Point Force India, starting from zero with their championship points scored as Force India nullified, Perez finished fifth ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon.

The 28-year-old from Guadalajara took up the story, “It was great to see everyone so happy after the tension that existed, not knowing what was going on with everyone's jobs, including mine. So it was great to get that kind of result for the team. It just shows the potential my team has and I was very proud of that performance."

"It was perfect result, the best we could dream for – the best of the rest. We had a tremendous pace and a very aggressive strategy as well – I managed to undercut a couple of cars. A massive day for us. It was really exciting."

"You know that if you do a good job, you can get P7, unless something happens, and that’s the target right now. There is such a big difference between the cars that the main target is just to do as well as you can in the car."

"At the moment we’re seventh so the next target is sixth, which will be amazing if we manage to beat McLaren before the end of the season. But to me that’s irrelevant."

"I’ve always said that in the back of my mind, P4 in the Constructors’ championship is what matters. The team is seventh in the championship on 43 points, 15 behind McLaren, but with the 59 points deducted [after Hungary] it would be fourth on 102 points, 10 ahead of Renault," added the man they call Checo.