Racing Point "debatably" the second fastest F1 car - Stroll

Perez drove a superb race, setting several fastest laps along the way, and was pressing Red Bull's Alex Albon for fourth place in the closing stages.

However, when he made his move he clipped the back of the Red Bull and damaged his front wing.

That caused him to lose performance and cede a place to McLaren’s Lando Norris, with teammate Stroll finishing right on his tail in seventh.

Stroll is convinced that Racing Point is quicker than its midfield rivals and could possibly edge Red Bull as the second quickest car.

“I really believe today we had you know, debatably the second quickest car, maybe third, but we were definitely quicker than Renault, McLaren and a lot of other of our competitors. So that was really positive," Stroll told Sky Sports F1.

“You know, it wasn't the perfect race setting for both of us. I mean for Sergio starting 17th it was a pretty good result. I think he probably would have signed up for that before the race!

“From my side there were definitely some frustrating parts of the race, being stuck behind Ricciardo, but the pace was there the whole race and that's what's really promising going forward.”

Perez said that he was lucky to ultimately lose just one position after his failed late overtaking attempt on Albon.

“I think it was a great recovery, great pace from the car, the team did a fantastic strategy,” said the Mexican. “We managed to recover, we went all the way to P5, nearly P4 in the end.

“I was pushing really hard on Albon, and I didn’t have any opportunity other than the one that I took, and unfortunately I touched at the wrong angle.

"Basically I understeered a bit towards the exit, I opened up the steering wheel and picked up the power, and then I broke the whole front wing, I was very lucky just to lose one position from that.

“I had to give it a go, especially as we were pushing flat out with all what we had. That was only the opportunity I was going to have, and unfortunately that didn’t work, but in the end I’m lucky just to have lost one position.”