Sergio Perez has explained the main factor that has left him "caught out" and led to several poor qualifying performances in the last few Formula 1 races.
The Mexican failed to reach Q3 for five races in a row, starting at various points outside of the top ten on the grid for the Monaco to British Grands Prix.
His lowest was P20 on the grid in Monte Carlo after crashing out during the first part of the session, while Spain, Canada, Austria and Great Britain featured mixed conditions.
Perez often times found himself in the wrong position while others improved their lap time as the track surface got faster, notably in Canada where he was sat in the garage having mis-timed his run.
His improved his fortunes in Belgium when rain affected qualifying, managing to set his first top three fastest lap since his pole in Miami in May.
But his lack of consistency has cost him valuable points in the Drivers' Championship, with the deficit now 125 points to Max Verstappen heading into the summer break.
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Perez: What happened in Monaco brought me a step back
"There is a deficit that I've been experiencing with the car in the last few races," he explained to media, including RacingNews365.
"Whenever there is a change of condition, it tends to get wider this 'limit', let's put it that way.
"That has been something that has caught us out, I think in the last five races really, there have been some change of conditions in Qualifying, and that has really put us on the back foot."
When asked if he has found himself overdriving the car, Perez admitted: "Certainly when when you're not fully confident with the with the car.
"I think what happened in Monaco probably brought me a step back and has taken me some time to fully trust the car the way I was [driving] it.
"Then you add the external factor with changeable conditions and then there is a bit more of a discrepancy."
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