Perez can start helping Verstappen: 'One-two would be ideal'

Sergio Perez had a mediocre qualifying session for the sprint race at the wet Imola, but a day later he managed to recover excellently. Christian Horner stated that a place in the top-four would be a good result for the Mexican and in the end he secured third place on the grid.

Ironclad Perez

"With the red flags we were unlucky and couldn't really get to a lap," said Perez, who is happy with his comeback. "Today we recovered and we are in a good position for tomorrow. It would be ideal to score a one-two tomorrow. That will be good for us, but probably not for the Tifosi, but we will try."

Perez drove the seventh quickest time on Friday, but he managed to overtake four cars in the 21-lap sprint race in Italy, and he will be able to start putting the pressure on Charles Leclerc from the first moment. Meanwhile, the 32-year-old veteran will have to look over his shoulder, as Carlos Sainz managed to move up from P10 to fourth place.

The speed of the Red Bull is at least impressive. Especially in terms of tyre degradation, it all looks good for the RB18, but that does not offer guarantees for Sunday. Max Verstappen also warned that Red Bull does not know if they will be as strong on the mediums as the softs.