Racing Point driver Sergio Perez has said that finishing seventh and scoring “good points” at his home race in Mexico was “extra special”.

Perez just missed out on Q3 for the Mexican Grand Prix, but drove a terrific race to climb through the field, ending the race in seventh after a late battle with the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo, who was on fresher tyres.

Speaking after the race, Perez said: “I think the race was just about perfect and I want to congratulate the entire team for all their hard work delivering this result.

“It’s extra special to score good points in my home race – in front of the fans who have given me so much support this week.

“There were some cars that were a bit quicker than us today, but we beat them with a fantastic strategy.”

Perez added that keeping Ricciardo behind whilst on much older tyres was intense and that to finish the race ahead of him felt “like a victory”.

“The race was so intense, especially the battle against Daniel [Ricciardo] at the end – when he was on fresher tyres and putting big pressure on me.

“I had to concentrate so hard and push right until the end.

“I’m very satisfied with our performance and the points we scored today are important for the fight in the teams’ championship.”

Racing Point Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer was equally impressed with his team’s pace on Sunday, and said that the team’s performance proves that the Silverstone based team have made real progress since further updates were introduced at Singapore.

“It’s satisfying to finish in seventh place as ‘best of the rest’ with Sergio executing a very strong one-stop race.” commented Szafnauer.

“It’s another indication of the progress we’ve made with the car recently thanks to all the hard work back at base and trackside.