Sergio Perez has recognised that he must "attack" from the start of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, due to the sprint format. The Red Bull driver heads to the team's home race in need of a big result, having only finished eighth last weekend in the Spanish Grand Prix. He finished eighth after starting in P11, the position he was demoted to following his three-place grid penalty for driving a heavily damaged car in Austria. Perez finished an entire minute adrift of Max Verstappen, who claimed victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. "I had a difficult weekend in Spain but it’s one we have learnt from," said Perez. "I struggled with the balance of the car all weekend. "We couldn’t get the set-up consistent and in a window for qualifying or to race the race we wanted, the grid place penalty also harmed us."

Home pressure

Perez's form has come under significant fire, given he has scored just four points across the last three races. He cannot afford a bad weekend at the Red Bull Ring, with Red Bull bosses likely to be attending the company's home race. The sprint format does not help the 34-year-old, who often needs time to settle into a weekend. Perez does not have that this weekend, with him recognising that he has to perform at his best from the second he gets in the car. "This weekend in Austria we have everything in place to have a cleaner weekend, the Team and I know where we must improve and make changes and we will implement them. "It’s then my job to get the most out of the car, we’ll have limited running due to the Sprint weekend, so I need to make the most of first practice and attack qualifying and the Sprint from the start. "We want and need a complete weekend. Austria is always a great race, it’s Red Bull’s home and that makes for a brilliant atmosphere, I’m looking forward to it."

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