The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend had another tale of two halves for Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez.
In Saturday’s qualifying, he went out early in Q1 and started the race in P16 as he crashed at turn 8 on a push lap in tricky conditions.
However, in Sunday’s race he had a good recovery drive and ended up P7. Talking of the Grand Prix, Pérez explained the tricky first lap he had, lacking any kind of grip on the hard tyres.
“Yeah, I mean it was very tricky as we expected with these conditions at this track.
“The first stint, starting on the hard, was a nightmare. We had no grip, I was behind George, he overtook me. I went off in Turn 2, so George overtook me and it was just a nightmare.”
Pérez further stated that the first stint, overall, nothing just clicked for him as the hard tyre proved to be difficult to get to work properly. While in the second and third stint on mediums, the Red Bull driver was able to find some strong pace from the RB20, beating George Russell in the process.
“Luckily, people started pitting out of the way and we catch up a bit, but I think that first stint was very tricky.
“I think the second and third stint, we had some good pace, we managed to pass George, undercut him. And yeah, I think we finished the maximum we could have done.”
He admitted that P7 was all that was realistically possible for him on Sunday due to his starting position.
“The maximum we could have achieved was seventh.”
However, with the recent struggles and a nightmare run of results, the 6-time race winner wanted to focus on the positives.
“I have to take the positives. We had a very strong Friday [P4 in FP2], we had a very strong race in terms of pace, the pace is there, so that’s the positive.
“The rest, I’m sure that it will take care of itself, it’s a matter of time.”
He also hopes to back in the podium fight this weekend at Spa. With teammate Max Verstappen set for a grid penalty because of an engine change, there’s an even bigger onus on the Mexican to deliver.
“The most important [thing] is that the pace is there and I really hope that for Belgium, I can be fighting back for the podium.”
When asked about the upgrades the team brought to Hungary, Pérez was careful to comment. He confessed that Red Bull is still struggling with balance issues as McLaren has now got the fastest car in F1.
“Upgrades, we always have to look at them carefully.
“I think they were in the right direction, I felt some good balance, but still we are struggling with balance. I think more than the upgrades, it’s just being able to balance the car all around.
“I think that’s what we really need in the coming weekends.”
Pérez further stated that the car does have the pace to fight in front, but he just needs to qualify up front to show his own speed.
“The pace is there to fight at the front. It’s just that we need a clean weekend. We need to be able to qualify high up because we do have the pace, which is the most important thing.”
Admitting to his mistake during Saturday’s qualifying session as a negative, it does not seem that he has lost all hope after it. The Mexican took positives from his race pace.
“Positive in regards to the pace, very negative with my mistake yesterday.
“But head down, the season is long and the most important thing is that the pace is there.”
The Mexican driver was asked whether his performance could silence the critics, he responded with how he has isolated himself from the noise. Pérez is keeping the focus to himself.
“I don’t think they will go off. I think it’s something that the noise has to […] It’s completely shut down from my side. I’m fully focused on myself, on maximising my own performance to work with the team.
“And at the end of the day, the only thing that matters to me is my boys, my people working with me. So, I just have to give my very best to them because they deserve it.
“And like I said, I think the most positive [thing] is that the pace is there, not like a few weekends ago where we were lacking the pace. I think that’s the most positive.”
As much as Pérez took the blame for Saturday’s qualifying, he also said it could have happened to anyone.
“I think yesterday we were just pushing out there at the wrong time.
“But it could have happened to anyone. The track just got wetter into Turn 8. I was going through there. Some other drivers have a similar issue but to a less extent.
“I take it as it is. Obviously, I will learn from those errors. But it can happen to anyone.”
“So, head down and like I said, the most positive is that the pace is there.”
The car was not perfect for the 34-year-old, nonetheless. Due to the huge repairs required following his crash in qualifying, Pérez says the car felt a bit offset during the Grand Prix.
“I think we were lacking a few bits from the crash yesterday. The car wasn’t feeling on lap to grid. We had a bit of an offset.
“So, the car was not as solid as it was on Friday.”
