Sergio Perez feels his Formula 1 pole position has come "after my worst weekend" at the Miami Grand Prix - presenting him with chance to lead the Drivers' championship for the first time.
Perez had been a chunk of time behind title rival Max Verstappen in the sister Red Bull, but a mistake from the World Champion on his first lap in Q3 allowed Perez to sneak onto provisional pole.
However, before the second runs could be completed, Charles Leclerc crashed at Turn 7, and with just 1:36 left on the clock, the session was not restarted, leaving Verstappen down in ninth and Perez on a third career pole - and first not in Saudi Arabia.
If the Mexican out-scores Verstappen by seven points, he will lead the standings, but says the pole position comes after a tricky weekend for him.
Viewed by others:
Perez on Miami pole
"It has been my worst weekend up to qualifying really," Perez explained.
"I just couldn't figure out how to do those things I was missing all the time to Max and the Ferraris.
"I was resetting everything and we did a small change into qualifying, and everything came more alive.
"We were just playing with the tools and we put the lap in when it mattered.
"Everything wasn't coming together, it was one of those weekends where I was struggling for balance and confidence. The surface is very sensitive to temperature.
"I am thinking race by race, and I will cheer for my team because they've done a tremendous job.
"We will see what happens tomorrow, it is a new opportunity, we have pole and are the ones to lose, but we will enjoy it."
Also interesting:
Balve Bains is joined by RacingNews365.com Editorial Director Dieter Rencken and Asia Correspondent Michael Butterworth to dissect the key talking points from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't miss a thing of Formula 1
Subscribe to our Youtube channelMost read
In this article
F1 2023 Miami Grand Prix RN365 News dossier
Join the conversation!