“I should have been on pole today, I did a mistake”– Sergio Perez on losing at pole position against Lewis Hamilton during qualifying.
After a tough first day, Red Bull came back strongly where it matters the most– the qualifying, as Red Bull is at P2 and P3 to pressure the lone Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton at P1, while Valtteri Bottas lingers on at P8.
However, Sergio Perez is not fully satisfied with the result as he complains about his own mistake, which apparently cost him the P1 start on Sunday.
“First of all, I have to say well done to the team,” Perez said after qualifying. “Yesterday, I did a mistake, and I made them work hard during the day, so it’s a good recovery but most important is that we’re showing progress.”
“I never expected to be here today,” he admitted. “Where we were yesterday, we’ve been improving, but it’s just important, I mean, to be P2. I should have been on pole today, I did a mistake on my final corner. ”
“I think it’s everything positive, but we just have to make sure that we keep progressing and tomorrow is what matters.”
Anything can happen on Sunday.
Perez is ready to vie against both Hamilton and Verstappen on Sunday and remarks that rain would spice up the excitement as it would be an incredible turntable.
“We are on a different strategy to Lewis and Max, so it’s going to be interesting,” said Perez. “We’ll see what we can do, and most important get those points, get that learning which is a priority at the moment.”
Verstappen, after long, has been outpaced by his teammate, but these Red Bull positions are crucial for Mercedes to yield the lead they gained after Bahrain. For long, Mercedes used the same strategy against Red Bull, and now it’s the opposite.
