Perez once again demonstrated his strength in qualifying for the Formula 1 race in China, finishing in second place behind his teammate Max Verstappen, who secured pole position with a three-tenths of a second advantage.
However, Perez’s performance during the race was less convincing. He lost to Fernando Alonso early on and couldn’t catch up to Lando Norris in the end. The timing of the Safety Car was also not favorable for him.
Nevertheless, Perez managed to secure the final spot on the podium, surpassing Leclerc. He expressed his disappointment at losing tire grip after battling with the Monegasque driver.
In Red Bull’s post-race report, Perez commented on the impact of the safety car: « The safety car hurt us today. It would have been a tight race, but unfortunately, it came at the wrong time and put us at a disadvantage, resulting in the loss of two positions. »
He also acknowledged tire degradation: « Fighting with Charles damaged my tires, making it difficult for me. The level of degradation on this track made it tough for us to make progress and we struggled. »
Perez had higher expectations for the race: « I wanted more today. The sprint race looked promising, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. We made some changes that may have affected our performance. We will review them for Miami to ensure continuous progress and better weekends. »
Le chef de l’équipe Red Bull, Christian Horner, a réfléchi sur la course de Perez, notant l’impact de la voiture de sécurité et la stratégie de pneus de l’équipe: « Nous avions une stratégie agressive de deux arrêts, mais nous avons eu de la malchance avec la voiture de sécurité, qui a favorisé Lando Norris et Charles Leclerc. Ils ont bénéficié d’un arrêt gratuit aux stands et ont réussi à dépasser Perez en piste. Bien qu’il ait réussi à dépasser Leclerc, il n’a pas pu rattraper Norris. Peut-être avons-nous trop poussé les pneus au début. »
Malgré les défis, Perez reste en deuxième position au classement des pilotes de Formule 1 de 2024, mais son avantage sur Leclerc a diminué à seulement neuf points.
