Sergio Perez said he's hoping to improve in the race after a poor qualifying session saw the Mexican qualify outside the top ten while Max Verstappen took pole position in the other Red Bull. Perez, like Verstappen, tried to get through the Q2 session on the medium tyres but had his first laptime deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 4. Trying again, he could only manage 11th position and was knocked out. "Not an ideal start to the season," Perez said to Ziggo Sport after the session. "But we are making progress. The car requires a certain driving style, and I think we had a good step from practice into qualifying. "It wasn't enough as I didn't get my first lap right in the qualifying so hopefully we can improve, going into tomorrow because every kilometre I get helps." Asked whether he felt more comfortable on the mediums compared to the softs, Perez said: "No, not really. I just think that I didn't perform as I should on the medium and I didn't get a lap. "The margin was really close between the medium and soft and we required a really strong lap to get through." Perez, starting from 11th, will be the lead driver with free choice of fresh tyres and compound choice, which he's viewing as a positive: "Hopefully tomorrow, that can be a factor."
Most read
