‘It was a shame’ – Perez laments Red Bull’s call to pit ‘too early’ after Q2 knockout in Las Vegas
It was a shame’ – Perez laments Red Bull Pete’s ‘too soon’ call after Q2 loss in Las Vegas
Sergio Perez admitted Red Bull came too soon after watching from the garage as the Mexican driver crashed in Q2 in Las Vegas, but Max Verstappen believes his victory in P3 qualifying was more than he was capable of.
After spending the first part of qualifying in 13th, Perez overtook some of his rivals in Q2 and logged enough laps to take sixth.
But with four minutes remaining, he was taken to the garage as others prepared for the final laps.
The decision to scrap the car proved costly as Alex Albon sent the Red Bull driver out of the session and Pierre Gasly relegated him to 12th.
This means Perez has qualified nine times in Q3 this season.
Reflecting on his session, Perez, who was forced to start 11th due to Carlos Sainz’s 10th grid penalty, said: “It was a very bad session for us.
I was a little off schedule in the first quarter, but I think I finished the second quarter a little early.
“There was some progress along the way and it’s a shame we didn’t get more because we felt we needed a top-10 finish.
Perez was ejected after making a pitch early in the second quarter.
“It was a bit disappointing but at the same time there was nothing we could do now.
So let’s focus on tomorrow and hopefully we can get through the race because we have a fast race car.
Asked if a podium in Las Vegas was still possible, Perez said: “I think so.
I think we looked a lot stronger in terms of race pace than we did in one set of laps…
“We start from P12, so we have to understand what happened with the tires yesterday, learn from it and see what we can improve for tomorrow.”
Verstappen qualified for Q3 but only recorded a flying lap while gunning for pole position. He finished third, three tenths behind Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari team-mate Sainz, but the Spaniard’s penalty forced him into second place.
“Obviously it’s a very cold place,” Verstappen said when asked how difficult it would be to qualify in Las Vegas.
“It’s very slippery, so on the street you try to get as close to the wall as possible, but that’s not always easy.
“It was fun out there and I think we maximized the weekend so far today.
We lost a bit of performance in one lap and that was evident in qualifying as well.
“Hopefully we can get good tires again for tomorrow’s race and move on.”
When asked if he was confident of winning the Las Vegas GP, Verstappen said: “Yesterday was good. Of course we want to be faster today, but the fight will be tomorrow and we know it will be a difficult task.
“First of all, you never know.
There’s going to be a safety car and of course it’s a very long line and there’s going to be a lot of racing, so hopefully we’re using the right tires.”
