'Paid The Price Towards The End': Perez Reflects On 'Terrible' Start To Sprint Race In Sao Paulo

Sunday, 05 November 2023 at 13:00

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez shared his thoughts about the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Race at Interlagos Circuit.

As opposed to the qualifying, Sergio Perez got a chance to put a lap on board at the end of the Sprint Shootout without being affected by yellow flags.

His pace was enough to secure third position on the sprint grid in front of two Mercedes cars of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. However, his initial start of the line put him in trouble for the next couple of corners.

In a matter of 4 turns, Perez lost two positions to the Silver Arrow drivers, which set him on a back foot for the rest of the sprint race in Sao Paulo.

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While he managed to recover the two positions he lost on the first lap, Checo explained to the media it cost him too much in terms of time and tire wear:

"It was not an easy one. I had a terrible start, ended up losing a place to George, and then another place to Lewis into Turn Four. From then on I was fighting, had to use all of my tires, and paid the price towards the end."

Perez finished the sprint race 13 seconds behind his teammate Max Verstappen and nine seconds behind Lando Norris in second place. Had it not been for the bad start, he said he could have finished "further up."

"Overall, it has been a good day, good points there. Unfortunately, without the start, I think we could have been further up."

Perez demonstrated a better pace than a few of the cars that will start in front of him for the race on Sunday. The Mexican will have to perform a couple of overtakes on his way up the grid starting from the P9.

"Obviously it's important but it's more important to keep the momentum going now. We had a very good day overall, and hopefully tomorrow, which is the main race, we can consolidate on a strong result."