Sergio Perez has had another awful start to this weekend’s Austrian GP as he only managed to qualify in 15th. In stark contrast, Max Verstappen put in yet another performance in the other Red Bull to qualify on pole.
Perez had a disappointing performance during qualifying as he found it extremely difficult to keep his car within track limits. While track limits was an issue for most drivers during qualifying, the Mexican had his lap time deleted on three occasions because of the same.
Consequently of him failing to set a quick enough lap, Perez failed to reach Q3 for a fourth consecutive time. And as Perez‘s struggles continue, there is no surprise that frustration is growing inside the Red Bull camp.
Great Sprint Race result for @redbullracing as we score maximum points.
I had a good chat with @Max33Verstappen about what happened in the start and everything is ok, always putting the team first.
Tomorrow we will fight right from the start to minimize the damage from Friday.… pic.twitter.com/bbSUtiek95— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) July 1, 2023
After the qualifying session was over, a frustrated Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1, “He’s got the pace today. He’s got a car that was easily capable of being on the first or second row. He was matching Max’s times. Stay in the white lines!”
And as Perez’s struggles continue, Verstappen finds himself in an uncomfortable position in the front for the Austrian GP. Verstappen will start the race from pole with the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz just behind him.
Can Ferrari put Max Verstappen under pressure?
After the Austrian GP qualifying session was over, Ferrari engineer Jock Clear explained his team’s strategy for the main race. Clear explained how the Prancing Horse will capitalize on Sergio Perez’s mistake by making life difficult for Max Verstappen.
As quoted by Luke Smith, Clear said, “Max knows he’s got to create a bit of breathing space, because otherwise that two on one at pit stop time will be crucial. Hopefully our performance is such that to do that, he’s going to cost himself some degradation and some tire management. If he’s got performance in hand, that won’t happen“.
🚨 GRAND PRIX GRID 🚨
A reminder of how we line up for the race 🔥
*de Vries and Magnussen to start from the pit lane#AustrianGP #F1 https://t.co/Cx1iRUv8pX
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
While the Red Bull have been in a league of their own this season, if there is one race that one of their rivals could give them a fight, then it could be this weekend in Austria. During both the practice session and the qualifying sessions, Ferrari showcased that they had enough pace to come close to Red Bull.
While Ferrari were still not quite there, a split strategy on their part could do the trick to keep Verstappen and Red Bull on their toes for the main race. If Ferrari are able to get their strategy right, they could have an outside chance for the win this weekend.
Perez and Verstappen seemingly had a fallout after the Austrian GP sprint
Since Red Bull teammates Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are fighting for the world championship this season, there is bound to be tension between the two. However, things seemed to be more heated between the two after the Austrian GP sprint race on Saturday.
Verstappen was annoyed after Perez overtook him during the sprint and pushed him wide. As a result, the Dutchman got his revenge by pushing Perez off in the next corner, resulting in the Mexican telling his team on the radio, “What is wrong with Max?”
However, the two seemed to settle their issues after the sprint race. The two explained that there was a misunderstanding of the incident between the two because of the lack of visibility.
