Sergio Pérez finished the Hungarian Grand Prix only one position short of a points scoring position. This was largely due to the pit stop error made by the team during his second pit stop from the medium compound tyre to the soft compound tyre. The team has confirmed that the error was caused by a miscommunication.
When you separate the team members on the pit wall from the team mechanics, miscommunications happen and can be costly. Force India showed us this during the Hungarian Grand Prix when Sergio Pérez arrived at his pit box on lap 40, but no one was ready. The Mexican was forced to sit stationary on the grid for a lengthy period while the team mechanics rushed to get the tyres and equipment in order to perform the pit stop. This costly mistake ultimately cost Pérez a chance at the points.
“With Checo [Sergio Pérez] we were contemplating a one-stop race, but it soon became clear he was struggling on the medium tyres,” explained the Force India Deputy Team Principal, Robert Fernley. “When we switched him to the two-stop there was a miscommunication on the pit wall, which cost us extra time in the pit stop.”
Pérez had pitted just 13 laps earlier, having started the race on the soft compound tyre. The team opted to switch the medium compound tyre, the hardest of the compounds available for the weekend. This was originally the team’s only planned pit stop, but the medium tyres could not provide enough grip on the resurfaced circuit. “The performance was not there on the medium tyres and the car was sliding around under me,” said Pérez.
On the other side of the Force India garage, Nico Hülkenberg picked up the point that Pérez wasn’t able to achieve. His day was not without a pit stop accident, as he lost a position to Jolyon Palmer in a close pit race. The issue was a driver error, as Hülkenberg make it difficult for the team to change his tyres when he moved the car in the pit box. He had accidently let the clutch slip. Nevertheless, he was able to recover and score his 27th World Championship point in 2016.
Weekend Summary: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix
Hülkenberg: “Nothing really worked out for us”
