Perez: "I'm going to treat Lewis like any other rival out there"

Sergio Perez will be looking to secure a podium at the Turkish Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver will be looking to make up places at the start and ensure that Lewis Hamilton can't pass him later in the race.

"I really hope Lewis doesn't get me and that I make enough progression early in the race to be able to keep up with the leaders. That will be the key for me," Perez said as quoted by Motorsport-Total.com.

The Mexican veteran will start the Turkish Grand Prix from P6 and will want to pass drivers such as Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly as soon as possible.

Helping Verstappen

Meanwhile, he will also need to do teammate Max Verstappen a favour by at least finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton. "I want to achieve the best possible for myself and I'm not going to make it easy for anyone."

In the second free practice session, the RB16B was unable to match the speed of the Mercedes in the long runs, but Perez is optimistic nonetheless. "I think we showed good pace in the long runs on Friday. I expect that the changes we made will benefit our race pace, so we should be able to do well."

Perez hopeful

Finally, the 31-year-old driver thinks it could well be a very chaotic afternoon in Istanbul. "There's a lot at stake. I think it's one of those races where qualifying is not the most important thing. I think a lot will happen. A lot of people will have problems and hopefully there will be good opportunities for us."