More points were on offer for Perez at Dutch Grand Prix

Sergio Perez was voted Driver of the Day at the Dutch Grand Prix as he took his Red Bull Racing car from the back to finish eighth. Team-mate Max Verstappen cruised to a home victory

Sergio Perez survived a late skirmish with Lando Norris to claim points at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing man started from the pit-lane after a disastrous qualifying mistake saw him eliminated from Q1, and he faced a tough task to come through the field.

But it was a much harder proposition around the tight Zandvoort circuit, which certainly the top order found as the top five finished in the same order they started.

But while his team-mate Max Verstappen claimed a comfortable victory from pole to flag, Perez had to carve through the field to get some points. His race was made a lot harder too when he flat-spotted his first set of tyres early on and it meant his long-stint plan was out the window as he was forced to pit early.

Perez and Norris battled it out and hit each other late in the race

He almost came unstuck late on though when he tried a move on Norris’ McLaren around the outside of Tarzan and the pair collided, causing damage to the right side of the RB16B. But he was able to bring the car home in eighth.

“I gave it my all, every overtake was on the limit and I had to take a lot of risks,” he said afterwards. “Today was all about damage limitation as I started from the pits after taking the penalty for the engine change.

“It was a bit of a shame at the end when Lando and I touched, I had a lot of damage on the right-hand side of the car. I think it was a racing indecent as I wasn’t given enough space and I don’t think he could see me.

“Since that point I lost a lot of grip, otherwise, I definitely think P6 was on the cards today. I really wish I could have given more to the Dutch fans, they have been incredible all weekend.

“From now on it’s just about looking ahead and trying to come back strong in Monza.”