Perez takes comfort as Red Bull 'put car together'

Sergio Perez has issued a positive judgement following the opening day of practice from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver ended the second practice outing in second place, just 0.006s down on Charles Leclerc who set his fastest lap in the final minutes of the session.

Baku has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Perez - in 2016 he qualified in second place in a midfield Force India car and remains the only driver to win more than once around the circuit.

Perez has endured a largely difficult season at Red Bull, with the team searching to rediscover its front-running form after slipping back in the pecking order of late.

Reflecting on the opening day of running from Azerbaijan, Perez said: “It was definitely a good, solid day. 

“There is some good basics, we did good progress from FP1 to FP2. We just have to make sure we are able to progress from there. We can definitely be in the mix.”

With competition at the front of the field being tight of late, Perez is anticipating another close qualifying session on Saturday.

“We are heading in the right direction, we’re finding that we can put the car together more,” he said. “There’s still a long way to go, but it’s promising, what we’ve seen so far.

“I think tomorrow anything can happen. We just have to keep our head down, deliver a great couple of laps. We only need one in Q3.”