Perez was running just a♔head of Valtteri Bottas when h🍌e came in for his first stop on Lap 26.

A sticky left-rear wheel nut cost him a couple of seconꦏds in the pit lane, allowing the Finn to overcut him for third place.

Red Bull gambled with a late second stop, utilising Perez’s spare set of medium tyres but it wasn’t enough as h💛e ran ou🤪t of laps.

“Yeah it was close, I think that was the r꧒ight thing to do,” Perez said.  “We were catching him u𓃲p but we had very similar tyres. I think it was good to try it, unfortunately I got hurt a bit by the traffic there and just half a second is all we needed at the end. A bit of a shame, unfortunately today we had a slow stop.

“The boys have been incredible all year long, having the best stops, today unfortunately that was very costly𒅌. But we are🔯 a team and we will come back stronger.”

Team boss Christian Horner fel﷽t Perez had the rᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚace to run with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the front, had he been able to clear Lando Norris on the opening lap.

“I thought he drove a very good race,”🎶 Horner added. “I think that it's a shame that he didn't quite manage to clear Lando on the first lap, he got held a litt𓄧le bit behind Lewis I think on the run down to Turn 4 And I think without that he would have been with that lead group.

“Wh𝄹en we pitted him, it should have been comfortable for him to retain track position to Bottas but unfortunately we had a problem with a left rear. And it cost him about two seconds and despite a stunning out-lap we just lost track position so at that point we then converted onto a two-stop. And I think anothe💙r lap or so he would have regained that third place.”