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Horner on Perez FP3 resurgence: 'He had the right breakfast'

The Mexican stormed back from a difficult Friday ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner joked Sergio Perez "had the right breakfast" after a stunning recovery in final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Mexican has been under increasing pressure after a horrible spell of form, including five races without a Q3 appearance despite driving the dominant car on the F1 grid. Perez's weekend at the Hungaroring got off to a nightmarish start when he crashed out within the opening five minutes of first practice after dipping his left-rear wheel onto the grass on entry to Turn 5. Red Bull repaired his RB19 in time for FP2, though Perez locked up on his only Soft tyre qualifying simulation to lose vital flying lap data on his side of the garage. But a strong showing during the final session before qualifying saw Perez finish third, just 0.006secs behind teammate Max Verstappen. He was also within a tenth of the Dutchman on a scrubbed-Medium tyre run early in the session, confirming his recovery. Asked during the session how Perez's struggles could be managed, Horner told Sky Sports F1 : "You've just got to talk these things through and be open and honest. "I spoke with him, sat down with him over breakfast and the time he put down there, on a scrubbed set of Mediums, less than a tenth away from Max, I would say he had the right breakfast. "He just has to keep that going, that's what he's capable of."

Verstappen's struggles

Verstappen complained about a lack of rear stability throughout the session as the championship leader failed to beat Lewis Hamilton's benchmark lap time. "I think primarily it's in Turn 2, there are big gusts of wind catching him out," explained Horner. "He's aware of that, GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] has worked with him on some tool changes to try and guide him through that. "But the gusts of wind are just catching the guys out. It is a completely different direction [to Friday], so you have got to be careful you don't tune the car for one corner, so you're trying to find 'is it just isolated to there', and then you try and find a plaster for that."

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