Red Bull needs to work on pace: 'Battling more with Mercedes than Ferrari'

Sergio Perez got his first podium finish of the season at the Australian Grand Prix, but Red Bull Racing loses a lot of points due to Max Verstappen's retirement. The team knows that there is still a lot to do to catch up with Ferrari.

Verstappen had to end his race early which leaves Charles Leclerc with a big gap in the championship. Perez did drive a good race and made some nice overtakes on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, among others. "Checo drove an exceptional race today with some stunning overtakes to secure his first podium of the season and bag some solid Championship points," Christian Horner says in Red Bull's press release.

"But it was very much a day of mixed emotions with Max not finishing. It’s a long season ahead and we have the basis of a quick and competitive car, but we need to get on top of these issues quickly," the team boss continues. This is the third time this season that a Red Bull has failed during the race.

Perez, after his failure in Bahrain, had bad luck again in Saudi Arabia with poor safety car timing. The Mexican is therefore happy to finally get a good result in Australia, although he would prefer to fight Ferrari and not Mercedes.

"It is a good result after so many unlucky moments in the first couple of races for me. We were battling more with Mercedes than Ferrari so the pace wasn’t where we want it to be, but we will work on it. If we can improve the car a little, then we can be more confident," Perez says.