Sergio Perez, from Mexico, racing for Red Bull Racing, had a challenging qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix of Formula 1. Perez had to compromise on the setup of his car after the Sprint race, which resulted in a confusing qualifying session. Despite showing promising pace in wet conditions early in the weekend, Perez was unable to match the performance of his teammate Max Verstappen and secure pole position. Perez struggled from the start of the qualifying session and narrowly escaped elimination in Q1, finishing in 15th place. However, he managed to advance to the top-ten shootout and ended up securing a Red Bull front-row lockout, albeit three tenths slower than Verstappen. Perez acknowledged that his first lap in Q3 was not good, putting him at a disadvantage. He felt that colder tires and adjustments to the front wing affected his performance. Fortunately, track conditions improved on his final lap, allowing him to set a good time. Overall, Perez described the qualifying session as confusing, starting from Q1 where he almost got eliminated. He also faced traffic issues with the Williams car during his first attempt and had to return to the pits. Perez felt out of position for most of the session and emphasized the importance of being on track at the right time to adapt to changing winds and learn from new conditions.
Perez took advantage of the battle between Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso in the final laps to move from sixth to third place in the Sprint race, finishing behind Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
With the new format allowing changes in setup due to the end of parc fermé restrictions, Perez revealed that his team made significant modifications to his RB20.
“We made numerous adjustments to effectively adapt to the new conditions, as Max mentioned. The change in wind had a considerable impact,” explained Perez.
“Given that this circuit has low grip, a change in wind conditions affects more than in other places. So, we learned a lot from the conditions at the start of the Sprint race and made the necessary adjustments. It was important for me to understand them.”
Perez shared that the greater degradation than expected in race mode led to changes on his side, which he believes affected the balance of his car during qualifying.
“We had a lot of difficulty with tire and rear wear. Therefore, it was crucial to create a more stable platform. However, this comes at a cost, as it requires compromises in different types of corners,” he explained.
“I couldn’t quite grasp the conditions. My first proper lap was in Q2, second attempt, and my first lap in Q3 was far from ideal. So, it wasn’t the smoothest qualifying session, but it’s still a positive result for tomorrow.”
