Perez Speaks Out After Q1 Knockout During Home Grand Prix Weekend In Mexico
F1
Sergio Perez explained the reason behind his Q1 knockout from the qualifying session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez came to his home Grand Prix in Mexico City looking for redemption after 13 Grand Prix races without a top-five finish.
Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend, the Mexican suggested his goal was to finish on the podium. Although we have seen Perez go last to first in the past, it is unlikely he will reach to podium during the race on Sunday after he qualified in P18.
Red Bull has not had the fastest car for a long time. However, the 34-year-old's teammate Max Verstappen qualified on the front row, showing what's possible.
This underperformance doesn't come at the right time for Perez, who, according to Helmut Marko, still needs to prove he deserves the seat in Red Bull for 2025. Explaining what exactly went wrong in the qualifying, the Mexican F1 driver told Sky Sports:
"It was really difficult to stop the car. I just couldn't get on top of it. I couldn't stop the car soon enough, and I just put too much energy into the tires at braking, and that was the main issue for me."
"It's been very similar to the rest of the weekend," he explained. "I just cannot stop the car and I'm struggling along with that part of the phase going into the low-speed."
"It’s a little bit similar to Austin where I just cannot attack the corners into the braking and here you have a lot of that."
Lowering his target from wanting to score a podium, the 34-year-old said after the qualifying session at Mexico City that he hopes at least for a top-ten finish.
"I think tomorrow it's just very important to try and maximize the day. If we are able to score some good points, it will be a tremendous effort, but it's going to be very difficult from the position we're in."
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