Sergio Pérez recovered well during the Hungarian Grand Prix, having been eliminated in Q2 during qualifying.
The Mexican finished in fifth place at the Hungaroring, six-places higher than where he started the race.
It was a strong result for Red Bull Racing, given that Max Verstappen won the race despite having started P10, and Pérez finishing P5 despite starting P11.
With Charles Leclerc being victim of another Ferrari strategic error and finishing sixth place, with Carlos Sainz only doing slightly better in fourth, Red Bull have extended their lead in the Constructors’ Championship to 97 points over the Italian side.
READ: Valtteri Bottas replaces Charles Leclerc at Ferrari for Hungarian GP
The margin will take an incredible effort from Ferrari to close in the second half of the season; however, Pérez has made it clear that the team aren’t taking “anything for granted” despite their comfortable margin.
“It’s good, but we’re not taking anything for granted,” the Mexican told the media.
“We are aware that the last couple of races have been difficult on our side.
“Things have changed a bit in the car, so we have to understand everything and just come back a lot stronger for the triple-header.”
The Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships would currently be looking dramatically different had Ferrari not made another error.
Leclerc has lost the race lead three times this season alone, from Ferrari’s strategies.
It’s seen people “point the finger” at Ferrari to stop making strategic errors, which have been occuring frequently.
Pérez believes the criticism Ferrari have been receiving is unfair, with anything being possible in the “heat of the moment”.
“I think always, after the race, it’s very easy to point [the] finger and say, ‘What a mistake they’ve [made]’,” Perez said.
“But in the heat of the moment, we are all prone to make those mistakes.
“We live in such tiny margins that these things can happen.”
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As a result of losing three race victories due to strategic errors, Leclerc is now 80-points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.
The margin is so big that Verstappen can afford to miss the entire triple-header after the summer, and still lead the standings by at least two points.
Things can quickly change, though, with Red Bull having endured reliability problems in Hungary, which largely was the reason for their poor Saturday.