Red Bull Content Pool

F1 News

Perez puts focus on qualifying: 'We know which direction to take'

Perez puts focus on qualifying: 'We know which direction to take'

20-05-2022 19:05 Last update: 21:57
1

GPblog.com

Sergio Perez had to give up his seat in the first free practice session to Juri Vips, but in the second free practice the Mexican was allowed back in his RB18. The 32-year old driver still had to concede quite some time to teammate Max Verstappen, but he faces Saturday and Sunday with confidence.

So Perez had to wait a while before he could make his first meters of the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and that immediately made his day a lot more challenging. "Everything comes fast when you miss a session," he said in a Red Bull Racing press release.

Perez puts focus on qualifying lap

When he got up to speed in FP2 he immediately experienced tire degradation, which Perez says means you can only do two laps at this track. "It's not a track that helps you with the tyres," he continued. "You have one lap to read the balance and then after that you are just getting up to speed but you don’t have great grip."

Having only driven in the second practice session, he has mainly driven long runs, but Perez hopes to do some extra work in FP3 on Saturday in preparation for qualifying. However, he is confident that he and his team know which direction to go.

By the way, he has nothing to complain about the fact that he had to lend his car to Vips. "I think he had a good time out there and did some important work for the team," Perez said.