Perez buoyed by "best Friday of the year"
Sergio Perez is feeling confident of a good result in this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following on from what he described as "probably the best Friday of the year."
The Force India man was best of the non-Mercedes drivers in FP2, ending the session in a lofty third place, just six tenths shy of pacesetter Nico Rosberg.
And while Perez conceded that equipping super soft tyres later than his rivals may have flattered his position somewhat, he said that the relatively small gap to Mercedes was encouraging.
"Today was probably the best Friday of the year in terms of performance, and that makes me feel happy," said the Mexican.
"We've come from a very poor weekend [in Brazil, where Perez finished 12th], and it's good that we understand all the reasons why.
"The pace on the option for a single lap was good; the Ferrari and Red Bulls did their laps a bit earlier than us, but it was still a very strong lap.
"Some get it right with the conditions more than others, but it's the best Friday because of the gap to the Mercedes - we were six tenths away I don't think we've ever been that close."
Solid points the aim
Admitting that he isn't totally happy with his car's balance over longer runs, Perez was nonetheless bullish that he can fight with Ferrari, Red Bull and Williams for a strong points finish at Yas Marina and end 2015 on a high.
"Generally Williams carry quite a bit of fuel on Fridays for some reason," he said. "I think we can give them a good run tomorrow.
"Ferrari will be strong, Red Bull as well, but I think we can be up there fighting with them."
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