Perez content with P2 after issues: "We had a problem with the engine"

Sergio Perez was unable to find the tow he needed to steal pole position off Charles Leclerc today, which is something he puts down to his engine problems in the garage before his final run. However, the Mexican was still able to beat his teammate Max Verstappen and put himself on the front row of the grid ahead of tomorrow's race.

"In the end, we had a problem with the engine, we couldn’t turn it on and that meant I was basically on my own," he stated after qualifying, before adding that "a tow is very powerful around here."

He was stuck in the garage for longer than he wanted, which meant he missed out on an important tow, but Perez was uncertain whether it would have been enough to claim the top spot, explaining that: "who knows if it would have been enough for pole, we definitely lost a few tenths, but Charles did a very good lap."

Perez uncomfortable when pushing

The Red Bull driver was pushing throughout the whole session, with some close encounters with the wall, but it won't affect him tomorrow and he knows anything can happen.

"When you get to Q3 you go all out, it was a little bit too much, I hit the wall a couple of times but luckily we managed to survive which is a key when you’re here. I think tomorrow it’s a very long race, so we have to make sure we’re there, at any point you could make a mistake."