Sergio Perez has warned Red Bull that Formula 1 reliability issues can strike "at any time" as Max Verstappen lost out on Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pole.
Perez inherited the mantle as 'man to beat' in qualifying after Verstappen suffered a driveshaft failure in Q2, leaving him 15th on the grid.
A stunning 1:28.265s effort from Perez on his first run was enough to secure his second pole position in F1 - 12 months after his first at the same venue.
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Perez reaction to Verstappen
"Maximising that lap was very important, because [we had an] issue on the the final run, and it was really important as the track was improving," Perez said of his pole lap before before asked about Verstappen's failure.
"It is a shame as Max has been really strong the whole weekend.
"Hopefully tomorrow we can both cars up there [fighting for the win], you never know with these cars, reliability issues can hit you at any time."
Verstappen had topped all three practice sessions and Q1 before the failure which left him P15 on the grid - although he could take a further drop if Red Bull elect to take new engine components.
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Join RacingNews365.com journalists Michael Butterworth and Dieter Rencken as they discuss all the key talking points ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
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