Pérez: "We have to put pressure on Mercedes"

Sergio Pérez secured an excellent starting position for the race on Saturday afternoon. Where he had a mixed performance in the free practices, he registered the fourth fastest time in qualifying. The Mexican driver is partly satisfied with the result.

The driver is still struggling to keep up with Max Verstappen. In qualifying he succeeded pretty well. "It was not my best qualifying," Pérez told afterwards in conversation with Speedweek. "I struggled to find a good rhythm and I'm not entirely satisfied with my lap time. The balance of the car left something to be desired and it's a shame I didn't get a better qualifying result."

According to Pérez, the main issue at the track is the tyres. "As it happens, the warm-up is really difficult. I tried everything to warm them up properly, but nothing seemed to work right. The wind made it even harder, but I still managed to get a good starting position for the race. Anything can happen and I think it will be an exciting battle, which I am looking forward to. We have to put pressure on Mercedes. Hopefully we can fight for a podium finish."

Mercedes set the best times during qualifying in Portimao. Valtteri Bottas was the fastest of all the drivers with a time of 1:18:348, while Lewis Hamilton was right behind. Verstappen will start the race from P3.