Sergio Perez says he is “more comfortable” with Red Bull’s 2023 Formula 1 car after making recent “progress on the set-up side”.
The Mexican revelled in his “best Friday in a while” at the Italian Grand Prix, but a spin late in FP2 and a subsequent oil leak on Saturday morning, necessitating a switch to an older power unit within his allocation, saw Perez only qualify fifth for Sunday’s race.
However, he was able to overtake George Russell and the two Ferraris to follow team-mate Max Verstappen home, handing Red Bull its first-ever 1-2 finish at Monza.
Perez says he was satisfied to recover to score his eighth podium of the year, but he was made to rue a “terrible Saturday” putting him out of contention for the win.
“Very pleased [with second place] – but we had a terrible Saturday in terms of the issues we had in FP3 with the car that really put us back in qualifying. So, I think we could have a better starting position, which definitely will have put us a lot closer in the fight for victory,” he contended.
Verstappen’s Monza triumph marked his 10th straight win, setting a new outright record number for the most consecutive victories by a driver in Formula 1 history.
However, Perez has struggled to match his two-time World Champion team-mate, only finishing second to Verstappen on three occasions during the Dutchman’s record run.
Expanding on the reasons for his slump, Perez admitted ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that the RB19 had drifted away from him since the beginning of the year, resulting in him needing to reinvent his driving style.
But, following extensive work behind the scenes, the six-time F1 race winner underlines that his side of the garage has since made a breakthrough with the set-up of the car, leaving him to declare “we will see the best form” of Perez in the next races.
“But certainly, we made a lot of progress, which is a positive thing,” he continued. “I think we’ve done very good set of directions, and then some work with the suspension as well. And I’m able to feel quite a lot more comfortable.”
Fathoming a return to a sweeter spot inside the cockpit has come at the ideal time for Perez, with a trip to Singapore next on the agenda. The 33-year-old mastered changing conditions expertly last year to clinch the victory, which remains his latest win to date.
Verstappen believes that the Marina Bay Circuit will prove to be “a little bit more difficult” for Red Bull, who are attempting to become the first team ever to go unbeaten.
Asked whether he agrees with his team-mate’s assessment, Perez responded: “I think so. I agree with Max, I think it’s going to be a weekend where basically anything can happened, and hopefully we are able to have a very strong Saturday, because if you don’t start in the front row, it’s very unlikely that you will have a shot at the victory.
“So hopefully we can repeat what we did last year there.”
