In the aftermath of a challenging race at the Canadian Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez shared his thoughts on the various phases of the race, his strategy moving forward, and the current state of competition in the Formula 1 World Championship.
Pérez began by discussing the difficulties he faced during the race.
Contact with Gasly at turn 2 on the opening lap dropped him even further back, and he struggled for pace on the inters.
The 34-year-old had worked his way up to P13 following the switch to dries and his pace looked a bit better. However, a crash at turn 6 destroyed his rear wing and his day was done.
“The first part of the race was compromised with the damage from [Pierre] Gasly. The second part was looking a lot better. In the third part, we were just stuck; there was only one line, and we couldn’t get by.
“Unfortunately, that meant that in the end, I was coming back and ended up making a mistake into turn 6, which was one of the most difficult corners where a lot of drivers made mistakes. I was one of those few that […] I couldn’t control the car; I did a mistake.”
Despite the setback, Pérez emphasised the importance of moving forward and refocusing. The Mexican driver had scored four podiums in the first five races of the season; he’s bagged just four points over the last three events, dropping to P5 in the Drivers’ Championship.
“I think it’s time to regroup and put our heads down. There is a long season ahead. Three races ago we were on form, so there is no doubt that I can get back to that level,” he explained.
When asked about what he needed to reset and regain his form following a second straight Q1 elimination, Pérez highlighted the need for “a straightforward weekend” without any issues. He is sure that the pace is in him and the car to get much better results.
“Yesterday, we had a car issue in qualifying, and with these margins, you can be knocked out in qualifying 1 with very small margins.
“The pace is there, the confidence is there. Obviously I’m going to take my time to analyse everything together with the team and make sure that we can come back strong.”
Looking ahead, Pérez remains optimistic about the upcoming tracks as Red Bull are expected to be very strong at Spain, Austria and Great Britain.
“I think there will be good tracks coming up where we can hopefully be on top form and be able to get the points.”
