Sergio Perez was nine tenths behind his teammate Max Verstappen in qualifying. This is a huge deficit at any circuit, but especially on a lap that is barely one minute long. Then again, the difference in speed within the Red Bull garage has been large for a long time. Despite this, Perez argues his potential is better than qualifying indicated.
The Sprint Race was generally positive for Red Bull. Verstappen outclassed Norris wheel-to-wheel before creating a significant gap to claim victory.
Qualifying saw the Dutchman further assert himself as the man to beat this weekend. However, his teammate was largely an afterthought in Friday and Saturday’s competitive sessions.
With four teams now fighting at the front, Perez often finds himself at the lower end of the points. This has been the case again so far this weekend.
Sergio Perez: I have more pace than this
Amidst his struggles, Perez maintains there is more to come. He explained why he could have delivered more in qualifying:
“It’s been a tricky weekend, and we have to just keep chipping away. We didn’t have the margins early on in Q1 and Q2.
“And we ended up using more new sets of tyres than we wanted and went into Q3 with only scrubbed sets left.
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – JUNE 29: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2024 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202406290202 // Usage for editorial use only //
“We had much better pace than we were able to show today. But unfortunately, we weren’t safe enough throughout the sessions to save a new set for Q3.
“We’ve done the right changes going forward, and learnt quite a bit from today’s Sprint race, which is positive.
“I think it is going to be really close on track tomorrow and should be an interesting battle where anything can happen.”
Of course, Perez’s inability to comfortably make it through to Q1 and Q2 is due to his lack of pace.
Q1 and Q2 eliminations have become increasingly common for Perez, who has scored just nine points in the last four weekends.
Provided Verstappen can continue winning races, he can limit the damage in the Championship. The question is whether the Dutchman can continue doing the heavy-lifting and keep Red Bull in the Championship.
