Sergio Perez says he is aiming to take pole position and convert that into a win in this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Perez comes into the second race of 2023 with teammate Max Verstappen having eased to victory from pole position in the season opener in Bahrain. But it was Perez who took his first and only F1 pole position in last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and the Mexican led the first 14 laps of that race before making his first pit stop. Unfortunately for Perez, a crash involving Nicholas Latifi on the very next lap resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car, allowing several other drivers to make a cheap pit stop and vault the Mexican, who eventually finished the race a disappointed fourth. Speaking at the drivers' pre-event press conference, Perez said he was keen to put the record straight at Jeddah this year. "That's certainly my target; to try to be on pole position and try to win the race," Perez told media, including RacingNews365.com .
Perez expecting closer battle in Jeddah
The dominant nature of Red Bull's 1-2 finish in Bahrain prompted many within the paddock to suggest that the rest of the 2023 season would play out in a similar manner, with Mercedes' George Russell suggesting that Red Bull would win every remaining race this year . However, Perez dismissed the notion that his team would have it all their own way in 2023, and noted that the unique characteristics of the Bahrain circuit contributed to the difference between Red Bull and their rivals. "I think it's important it's only the second race weekend. We have a very fine margins, Bahrain was really close between us all," said Perez. "I think it's a really different circuit here. The requirements are very different, the degradation is not as severe as Bahrain. "We certainly believe that the Ferraris will be pretty strong around this place. So certainly, Aston Martin, Mercedes are going to be a lot closer to us, because the requirements are very different.
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