Sauber's Perez happy with his performance

Paris: Sauber Formula One driver Sergio Perez is satisfied with his overall performance in his rookie season.

"I'm happy in terms of the speed I had but I'm not happy in terms of results and points. Also because of my accident, I missed two races – Monaco and Canada. After I got back into the car, it still took me a few more races until I was really a hundred per cent again," the Mexican driver said referring to his crash in Monaco.

Elaborating on the Monaco accident, Perez remarked that getting over it wasn't easy. "When I got back into the car for free practice in Canada, I realised the difficulties I had. I felt dizzy, so it was impossible to drive," he recalled. "It had been a very heavy impact and I learnt it takes time to physically make sure you feel right after suffering from concussion. Mentally it was a shock too."

Perez, who earned praise for conserving the fast degrading Pirelli tyres in his first F1 race in Australia, regarded his performance in Japan as his best so far. "I drove the second fastest lap of the race and was able to overtake a few cars. The team's strategy worked very well. I was really happy at the end of that Grand Prix," he said.

Speaking about the pressures in his rookie year, Perez said that in F1, the pressure goes on to a completely different level. "Last winter, everyone was saying I was a pay driver and it was good to prove them wrong. There were a lot of ups and downs during the season and the team's support always helped me to remain confident," he said.

On what he had learnt from his first season, Perez said, "It was important to be patient, to be focused and to always give one hundred per cent. You need to improve constantly in every aspect and you must always be ready to adapt to situations. If circumstances require that you change your driving style, you just have to go and do it."