Sergio Perez‘s victory at the 2020 Sakhir GP was memorable for several reasons, including the fact that it was the Mexican’s first F1 race win, and he won it despite being last on the grid after Lap 1. Looking back on an incredible race for the Silverstone-based team (then known as Racing Point), ex-strategist Bernie Collins reveals what went through the mind of the team when Perez drove towards that famous win.
Perez suffered a shunt in the opening lap of the race in Bahrain, when his car made contact with Charles Leclerc, dropping him down to last place. There was chaos all around in the opening lap with Max Verstappen also crashing out of the race.
A safety car came out and Racing Point and Collins were left with a big decision to make regarding Perez’s strategy for the remainder of the Grand Prix. In an episode of the The Fast and the Curious podcast, Collins reveals the brains behind Perez’s win that evening.
After assessing the situation, Racing Point felt that Perez’s car was fine. They didn’t need to do any repairs, and he could continue racing, trying to catch those in front. Still, Collins insisted on a pit-stop.
“We decided to do the pitstop,” she said. “Because I knew the other tire was quicker and we were ready at the back. It felt like an easy decision because we’ve done all the prep.”
Perez’s race engineer Chris Conin was initially apprehensive about calling Perez in so early, but having worked with Collins for so long, he decided to relay the message to his driver, asking him to box.
Sergio Perez’s special win in Bahrain 2020
With Verstappen and Leclerc out of the race, Perez crept into the pit lane following Collins’ call and let go of his soft tires to fit in brand-new medium compound tires. From thereon, the Mexican driver drove brilliantly, avoided any incident, and made some stunning moves to work his way towards the front of the pack.
Admittedly, Mercedes was still the fastest team on the grid, but a pit-stop mishap between George Russell (who was filling in for Lewis Hamilton on the day) and Valtteri Bottas gave Perez a golden opportunity to go for the win- and he did.
Collins remembers how special the win was because it was the team’s first. It was also her first and only F1 race win to date, and it came at a time when they knew Perez would leave them and possibly F1 in the coming weeks. The very next weekend when Red Bull announced him as their new driver for the 2021 season, thus saving his career.
His incredible finish in Bahrain that evening was a fitting farewell gift for Collins and the rest of the team, with whom he had been working with for seven years.
