After testing positive for COVID-19, Sergio Perez was forced to miss two GrandsPrix – with Nico Hülkenberg standing in for his former team-mate during both race weekends at Silverstone in a super-sub appearance now affectionately known as the #Hulkenback. And with Checo’s fastest lap good enough for P5, the signs looked good for the afternoon. It would be a long opening stint on used Soft tyres, with Checo pitting on lap 29 and bolting on new Mediums for what would be a one-stop strategy. By mid-distance, Checo was back into P5 and within touching distance of team-mate Lance – rising to P4 when Lance took his second stop. 4 – Checo’s Spanish Grand Prix result made it his fourth consecutive race in the points. 5 – Fifth place represents Checo’s best race result since the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. 8 – Checo qualified P4 for the eighth time of his career – his best starting position in F1 to date.

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