For the sixth time this season and for the fourth time in a row, In Q3 there was only one Red Bull. It is that of Max Verstappen, 6th in the Friday sprint qualifying. His teammate Sergio Perez instead it will start from 16th box. A very disappointing result for the Mexican. This further complicates the Constructors' Championship situation for the Milton Keynes team. If before there was a remote possibility of causing trouble to McLaren and Ferrari, with these placings by Checo everything fades away.
Perez hot after sprint qualifying: “I lost a few tenths with Leclerc”
The “justification” after this result by Perez was the fight had with Leclerc. On his final attempt, the #11 Red Bull driver found himself locked in with the #16 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. This, in his opinion, made him lose those tenths that would have been enough to advance to the next cut: “Before my last lap we were all taking up each other's space. Charles tried to pass me and we arrived at turn one side by side.. With this fight I probably lost a few tenths. With this margin of time I would have easily passed the cut".
“We have much more potential than we have shown”
The Mexican tried to leave this bad performance behind him to think about the rest of the weekend. The race is not very long and there are not many opportunities, but Perez is convinced that there is much more potential: “Compared to the single free practice session we improved in qualifying. In my opinion the potential is greater than what is shown. In the sprint it will be difficult to get back into the points, so it will be important to focus for the rest of the weekend. It will not be easy in a race like this, but we will give it our all”.
