Sergio Pérez’s disappointing season continued in Austin as he could only manage a P7 finish in the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 34-year-old talked about how the race could have been much smoother if he did not lose time battling with Tsunoda for the first 17 laps.
The Mexican then had a few laps of clean air as Magnussen and Tsunoda pitted before he entered the pits for new hard compound tyres.
He was engaged in a costly battle with Franco Colapinto for 9 laps, and it gave a great opportunity to George Russell to overtake Pérez near the end.
“I think we lost a lot of race time in the beginning of the race, getting stuck behind the midfield, and then towards the end of the race, again with Franco, we lost a couple of seconds there, that were very costly in the end.”
Like Verstappen, he struggled more on the hard compared to the medium as McLaren and Ferrari in particular held a clear advantage on that tyre.
“Yes, I think on the hard it was quite difficult for us.”
Pérez also talked about the lack of pace in the Red Bull was bigger than expected with the different floors, and they will have to solve the problem as soon as possible with only one out of the three races in the triple header being completed.
The battle for the Constructors’ Championship is now a three-way fight, with Ferrari only 8 points behind adrift of Red Bull, and McLaren 40 points ahead, every point matters.
“But generally speaking, we lacked some pace this weekend. I think it’s something we have to work together with the team to understand where the pace has gone. Really try to figure out the differences on the floors.”
The extra load clearly helped Verstappen find more confidence on Friday and Saturday. Although he struggled more on Sunday, the Dutchman still finished over half a minute clear of his teammate.
“The main difference comes from the high speed and braking. There seems to be more load than we initially predicted. That was the biggest thing, and a bit of overweight as well.”
Regarding if he’ll have it in Mexico, Pérez was unsure.
“We don’t know yet, as we are learning on these floors.
“We might take an opportunity to bring a new spec later on, so we’ll see.
“I think in the coming days we will know more.”
With Pérez’s home race being the next race of the season, he talked about how Red Bull are in a difficult position at the moment.
With Mexico being a completely different track from Austin, anything could happen in this unpredictable season.
“I don’t think we are in a great momentum right now, but Mexico is different. It’s a different track where anything can happen. I’ll go there and try to give my very best.”
