Perez: Tow from Raikkonen cost me time

The Mexican driver finished a strong seventh for the Silverstone-based team behind Williams' Valtteri Bottas.

Perez admitted to being "over optimistic" on his final run which ultimately cost him time.

"In Q3, I was a bit too optimistic and tried to get a tow from Kimi [Raikkonen] on the straight but it didn't work," Perez said after qualifying.

"It actually cost me a couple of tenths.

"The race will be hard, but our target should be to challenge Williams ahead of us," he added.

The Force India driver stated that tyre degradation will be key for the race tomorrow but was confident of a good show from the B-spec car.

Problems for Hulkenberg

Both Force India drivers made it to Q3 at Monza but Nico Hulkenberg suffered issues on his car after his first run in the final session which put him only ninth.

"I lost power on my in-lap following my first run on used tyres, which was caused by a problem with the fuel system," the German said.

"I made it back to the pits, but the mechanics had to push me back to the garage and we lost a lot of time.

"When we tried to restart the car, the gearbox was stuck in between two gears and I couldn’t select neutral in time to get out again for a lap on new softs," he added.

Hulkenberg stressed that sixth was possible and starting ninth, they will face stiff competition in the race.

"The midfield is looking very competitive and some of the teams have stepped up their game since yesterday. We will have to fight hard to get the points we need," the Force India driver said.