Red Bull sacrificed Perez's top 10 to steal fastest lap F1 point off Hamilton

Despite Perez running in tenth - moving up a place thanks to Pierre Gasly’s late puncture - Red Bull pitted the Mexican for soft tyres to get the fastest lap.

Perez endured a torrid British GP after starting from the pit lane following his spin in sprint qualifying, before later retiring.

Red Bull came away from the weekend at Silverstone with zero points, allowing Mercedes to close to within just four points in the constructors’ championship.

Reflecting on his race, Perez said: “It was a difficult one. We were not able to make as much progress as expected. We found ourselves in a very difficult position with the tyres. As soon as we were getting into the DRS trains it was pretty hard to pass people.

“I think P7 was possible today, definitely. I think Lance [Stroll] and Fernando [Alonso], with a couple of more laps, definitely could have got them but apart from that, it was pretty difficult. In the end, for strategic reasons, we decided to stop for the fastest lap.”

Perez was involved in a tangle with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen during the closing stages of the race as the pair battled.

The stewards later decided not to take any further action.

Giving his side to the story, Perez explained: “I think he was just over-optimistic. He was moving very late into [Turn] 15, I overtook him around the outside and then into [Turn 1]  I was in the inside so I was ahead of him and he tried to stay around the outside.”

Perez’s non-score at Silverstone sees him drop to fifth in the drivers’ championship, behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.