Sergio Pérez did not go beyond fifth place in qualifying for the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was 0.358s behind teammate Max Verstappen’s pole position and more than a tenth off the front row.
In statements to the official championship website, the Mexican explained: ‘Everything is so close. I didn’t have a good turn one, which means two or three positions, considering how close everything is. Unfortunately, we lost a set of tires going into Q2; they said we were not safe, but it turns out we were, so we ended up aborting the lap, but we used the tire anyway, so we only had one chance. Things are very close, and in the race, I think it’s going to be a good fight’.
For Pérez, the balance in the field is not surprising: ‘Not really, it was already evident during testing, so I’m not surprised. I think things are very close, so it’s going to be an interesting fight in the race’.
