Sahara Force India
Sergio Perez says his clash on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix with Adrian Sutil was 'unfortunate'.
The Mexican was battling with Sutil for ninth position when the pair made contact at Turn 15, with both cars sustaining terminal damage in the accident.
"What happened today is really unfortunate," he said. "I made a move on Adrian at Turn 15 when he left the door open, so I went up the inside. Then Adrian started to close the door and I had to try and brake later than him. By doing so I was unable to avoid contact with Kimi [Raikkonen], which caused me to make contact with Adrian also. I just didn’t expect Kimi to be in that position.
"It’s a big shame because I had a great chance to keep up my run of points finishes and I was determined to do well in such an important race."
Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg failed to finish due to a mechanical problem.
"I lost drive and had no more power so the team told me over the radio to stop the car," he said.
"Even before that it had not been an easy race with a very difficult first lap. I was right behind Sergio and Adrian when they crashed, and Sergio’s front wing just happened to fall right in front of my car. I ran over it, which caused damage to my car and the tyre."
