Perez questions Ocon interference after botched lap

Sergio Perez is confident he would have been in the mix during sprint qualifying at the Red Bull Ring if not for being impeded by a rival car.

Perez ended the session in seventh place while team-mate Max Verstappen claimed pole for Saturday's shorter race.

The Mexican driver emerged out of the pit lane behind Esteban Ocon for his final push lap of the session as the clock ticked towards zero.

With no time to create a gap to the cars ahead, Perez was forced to complete his lap close behind the Alpine driver.

“Yeah, we were making good progress,” Perez said. “My lap one in Q2 wasn't ideal, I went deep into Turn 3 when I was finding the tyre.

"But I think we were in the mix.

"Unfortunately, I don't know what Esteban was doing there, he apparently had to drive really slowly, and I did my final lap within half a second from him.

"Basically, there was no chance."

Perez confident over Austria weekend recovery

Perez has endured a difficult run of form at recent rounds, scoring eight points at the last four races.

The 34-year-old ended the Austrian sprint race and grand prix inside the top three last year and is hopeful of repeating his strong outing this time around.

"Yes, definitely,” Perez said when asked if he was expecting a more positive Saturday.

“We should have been in the mix today but for circumstances out of our control we didn't end up where we needed to be.

“I'm confident that tomorrow will be a better day.”