Pérez on disappointing start at Red Bull: 'I let my crew down'

Sergio Pérez has not had a great start to his first season with Red Bull Racing. Where the team hoped that he would perform better than his predecessors, he remains far behind the times of Max Verstappen. The Mexican himself also sees a need to improve his performance.

The driver had to be satisfied with an eighth place in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

"Especially at the soaking wet Imola was a missed opportunity," he stated in conversation with the NOS. "We should have scored a 1-2 there, but I blew it. Everyone made mistakes, but my slips were the most expensive ones. That hurt. I know how hard the mechanics work. I let my crew down and got some justice."

Like the other drivers, Pérez had little time to get used to his car at the beginning of the year. "We have incredibly little test time and I don't have to explain how strong my teammate is. Max always gets 110% out of the car. I have to make sure I stay close."

Pérez explained that he drives with a similar setup to Verstappen. "It's pointless to do things completely differently. Then we will lose our way. A lot of things are going well. In my second race for Red Bull I already qualified on the front row. Unbelievable."