Sergio Perez expands on the qualifying problem he has been facing in F1 British GP, as Christian Horner adds his view on the matter.
For the fifth race running, Red Bull’s Perez failed to reach Q3. A two time winner this season and at one stage looking like a serious threat to Max Verstappen, but the last six Grands Prix have seen the Mexican take just two podiums while the Dutchman has taken six wins in that same period.
Qualifying has been the focal issue for Perez and he is working with his team to rectify the mistake. “It’s just the amount of detail,” he said to media. “I have become a little bit more sensitive to the car in the last few races, especially on Saturday, when on low fuel. It’s something that I gonna be working already in the simulator with the team”.
“And we have some ideas. But we operate in such a small window of detail that… It is just that we need a strong Saturday. And the positive thing is that the pace is there on Sundays were at the end of the day the points are given. But we just have to sort out and have a clean weekend because the pace is there,” summed up Perez.
When asked if it is the car or the driver, the Mexican admits that it is more to do with his driving and he is looking at finer details to rectify it. “It’s with my driving,” said Perez. “How I’m approaching the Saturdays, how we’re doing it as a team, we just have to figure it out. I mean, the amount of detail, I mean, for example, this… the last qualifyings that I’ve had bad they’ve been on changeable conditions, and it’s where a lot of detail comes in play”.
“So I’m not too concerned, you know, I think we had a great Friday in terms of pace. We just have to sort out the qualifying and we’ll be fine,” summed up Perez. Team boss Horner agrees with the Mexican on qualifying being the biggest hurdle for him in recent times.
“He just need to break it,” said Horner. “He will do it in Budapest. It is the way he races. It is the way he moves. His pace in the last sting, he was right there. Some of his moves are quite stunning into Stowe. He has to sort out his qualifying on Saturday. As a team we will do help him the best we can to support him on that.”
The other issue could be confidence. As per above, it’s the fifth Grand Prix running that Perez has not made Q3. It feels like the Mexican has lost a small amount of confidence. “It is just one of these things,” continued Horner. “As in sport, 90% of it in the sport is in the head. He needs a good run and will find his pace and momentum again. He is second in the championship and extended his lead again”.
“We have a good car. But we must make sure that both cars are in contention.” But if Perez has been affected by his performances lately, he also may need a little bit of psychological moral support and Horner concurs on this.
“He is the type of guy who needs to be supported and need to be patted on the shoulder,” said Horner. “We had a 1-2 in sprint race last week and 1-3 in the Grand Prix race. We are trying to say where can we be better. We have to think what he can do on Sundays. We are looking for perfection in this job. You are always looking at where can we be better. We have to see where and how to help Sergio better.”
The qualifying results for Perez did not get bad overnight. It has been five races running without appearing in the Top 10, but he has been good in the past. Fortunately, the Mexican knows what is missing from his side and can work on it.
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