Perez expecting Red Bull to 'suffer' in Canada

Sergio Perez is hopeful that Red Bull has taken positive steps to address the issues that thwarted the team in Monaco, but admits he does expect to "suffer" in Montreal.

The 34-year-old feels the parallels between the streets of Monte Carlo and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will continue to effect the RB20, but does not believe it will be as "extreme" as it was two weekends ago.

The Red Bull's difficulties in efficiently riding the kerbs of the principality re-exposed a weakness in its cars. In previous years the performance gap the team enjoyed over its rivals rendered the issue inconsequential, but this season it precipitated an uncharacteristically poor result for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Perez, however, has said it will be less pronounced in Canada, highlighting steps the team has taken to address the problem - although, he does still think it will hinder him and team-mate Max Verstappen.

"I don't think it's going to be as extreme as it was in Monaco, but obviously it's a track where you need to ride the kerbs," he explained to media including RacingNews365 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"Riding is definitely one of the biggest talking points in this track, so I do expect to suffer a bit in that regard. But like I say, we've done some work, we've done some understanding as well, so I really hope we are able to make a good step forward in that direction."

'It's natural that teams are coming closer to us...'

Exacerbating Red Bull's current plight has been the increasingly reduced performance gap to its competitors.

It started the season in the same way it finished 2023 - with a heathy delta to the chasing pack. However, over the past month, a spate of updates introduced by first McLaren, and later Ferrari, has put Red Bull on the back foot.

It still holds an advantage, but which team will be strongest on any given weekend is now circuit-critical. 

As champions, Red Bull receives less wind tunnel time to develop its car, with the staggering scale aimed to bring the field nearer together year-on-year. Therefore Perez thinks it is to be expected that other teams have closed in - something he relishes.

"Well, I think it's natural, you know," the Mexican driver replied when asked if the diminishing performance gap was as a result of McLaren and Ferrari enjoying more team to develop.

"It's the third year of the same regulations. It's natural that teams are coming closer to us. We're finding it harder as well to find performance. 

"But, yeah, I think we know where our biggest chunk of performance is going to come from. I don't think we have unlocked that much during the year compared to other teams. So hopefully once we are able to unlock some of that performance, we can be in better shape, especially at different types of circuits. 

"The competition is super, super high. And I think this weekend there are three or four teams that can potentially get the victory. So I think it's great to have this competition."