Sergio Perez has urged Red Bull to stay on top of any reliability issues after suffering a "painful" retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix. The Mexican had started the race from P13 following a crash in Saturday's qualifying session, but had been making up places when he was forced to stop the car only eight laps into the event. Perez says that the problem was related to the gearbox, and he has been left disappointed after feeling that he was making progress in the event. "[It's a] big shame," Perez told media, including RacingNews365.com . "It's hard to digest a zero on a Sunday. "[The pace] was good. We were coming through it, saving the tyres, the brakes especially, so we had plenty of potential in my race to come back."
Perez: We have to keep on top of these things
When asked if he thinks that the issue could have been related to his qualifying incident, Perez stated that he does not believe this to be the case. He does, though, want the team to keep an eye on any possible reliability concerns. "We need to keep on top of these things," Perez explained. "The gearbox was at the end of its life, so we just have to keep on top of these things, because [with] reliability, it's very painful, and having a zero for the championship, it's also very painful." Quizzed on why teams across the grid are experiencing reliability issues, Perez commented: "We have a new set of regulations, and everyone [is] pushing extremely hard with everything."
Being in championship battle makes DNF "hurt"
Perez is currently second in the World Championship standings, and in May achieved his third F1 career victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. His non-score in Canada means that teammate Max Verstappen has increased his lead at the top of the standings to 46 points, and consequently Perez admits that his DNF is all the more painful. "I know that a zero, when you're fighting for the championship, is very costly," he said. "But it's still a very long championship. Today hurts a lot, so I want to forget about today and move on to Silverstone."
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