Sergio Perez will start Sunday afternoon's Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in fifth position. Although the Mexican could not be satisfied because of the big time difference with his teammate Max Verstappen, he also saw the possibilities afterwards.
During the free practice Perez already struggled to keep up with the front runners. The Red Bull Racing driver set two times in the middle of the pack on Friday. He managed to get back into Q3 in qualifying, but fell short of a fifth place finish.
Speaking to Speedweek.com he stated that this could provide an advantage. "We will see if it is an advantage to start on the clean side of the grid. I think the start is a good opportunity to gain some positions. If we can do that we will try to fight at the front."
Battle between Mercedes and Red Bull
Perez will have Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Verstappen and Charles Leclerc ahead of him at the start. The Austrian stable will be quietly hoping that Perez manages to get into the top three so that he can make things more difficult for Hamilton and Bottas. Moreover, it would help Red Bull with the strategies it can employ.