Sergio Perez has revealed that an engine issue blighted him during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix after he was eliminated in Q2.
Red Bull entered the Singapore weekend braced for its toughest test of the season and Max Verstappen admitted after Friday its RB19 was faring “worse than expected”.
However, neither Red Bull driver could progress into the pole position shootout on Saturday evening, with Verstappen and Perez wounding up 11th and 13th respectively.
Perez echoed the complaints of his team-mate, insisting that Red Bull exhausted multiple avenues in a bid to overcome its troubles but to no avail ahead of qualifying.
“I had a complete disaster, I am really disappointed with the result, it was not really what we were expecting, it really hurts,” Perez bemoaned.
“We made a lot of changes to the car this weekend, but nothing really worked, we need to understand it.
“We started really well with a nice balance in FP1 but then FP2 was very difficult and since then it has been tough because we have been making a few changes here and there but nothing seems to transform the balance.
“It has been tricky out there with the amount of sliding we have been doing and the balance is changing corner to corner.”
Perez’s hopes of successfully escaping the Q2 drop zone on his final tour were abruptly curtailed by a spin out of Turn 3.
The Mexican, however, says the mishap was caused by a misfiring engine, which locked the wheels and pitched him into a spin.
“In my final attempt, I had a massive under-delivery from the engine,” he explained. “Big lag, then it came back, which meant I locked [the wheels and spun] and couldn’t have a final attempt on that last lap.”
With both Red Bulls set to start Sunday’s race from outside the top 10, the Austrian outfit’s hopes of enjoying an unbeaten campaign appear under great threat.
Perez, who was victorious in Singapore this time last year, believes that Red Bull will be unable to utilise its promising long-run pace within the mire of the midfield group.
When asked about the team’s prospects for the race, Perez replied: “Yesterday the [race] pace looked really good, but I don’t expect great things to be honest. Given where we’re starting, it’s going to be pretty difficult to make progress from there.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has urged his side to understand the issues that have plagued its competitiveness throughout the entire race weekend.
“There’s a lot for us to consider this evening,” Horner exclaimed.
“First thing we need to do is put the disappointment behind us and look to work out what has caused our drop in pace and performance. We tried a new aero part in practice, but what we went into qualifying with is tried and tested.
“For whatever reason, the car just hasn’t responded at this circuit.
He added: “There is a lot to do but we won’t give up on anything. Starting outside of the top 10 at a track that is notoriously hard to overtake on is going to be tough but we certainly haven’t written this weekend off. The points are awarded on Sunday and there is plenty to play for.”
