Red Bull Racing were hoping to start the Qatar Grand Prix with both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the top five, but nothing came of it. The Mexican didn't even make Q3 in qualifying and will therefore start the race as eleventh driver. The disappointment of Perez is great.
It was crucial on Saturday afternoon that Perez stayed close to Verstappen's time, as the Dutchman needs his teammate harder than ever to beat Lewis Hamilton. Although he drove a much worse time than Verstappen in Q2, Perez believes he would have been close otherwise. "Absolutely. We've been there all weekend, so I don't see why it would have been different today," he told Motorsport.com.
Tricky job for Perez
Perez does not have an easy race ahead of him on Sunday afternoon. At the Qatar circuit, overtaking seems difficult at first, forcing him to work hard to get past the drivers in front of him. Red Bull, therefore, does not expect Perez to be able to be important up front.
"It's going to be a tough job, there's no doubt about that," Perez stated. "It won't be easy to get to the front, although we have to. We will do everything we can to limit the damage and hopefully I can finish the race with a few points."