Pérez impresses Button and McLaren F1 in Barcelona

Sergio Pérez narrowly qualified for Q3 in Barcelona by setting an impressive time against teammate Jenson Button on his final lap in Q2. The Mexican will finally start from eighth place, taking advantage of the penalty imposed on Felipe Massa, while his teammate Jenson Button only took 14th position. “We had some difficult days, I had problems during free practice, and finishing in Q3 is a great result that I didn’t expect”, comments Checo. “I’m really satisfied because I was able to exploit the car’s full potential. » Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh is also delighted with the performance of the Mexican who shines after showing very aggressive driving at the last Bahrain Grand Prix. “Checo did a fantastic job in qualifying, particularly in Q2 when he put in a superb lap to set the seventh fastest time of the session. We thought about playing strategy in Q3, in other words not putting him on the track to keep a set of tires. But given his driving, we hoped that he would repeat his Q2 performance. As expected, he lost time in the last sector but ultimately ranked ninth. »

Jenson Button suffered the blow after being unable to aim for the last qualifying session. The 2009 world champion will have a lot to do to hope for points by starting from 14th place, but the Briton remains fair by highlighting the performance of his teammate. “Congratulations to Checo who did a good job, especially in Q2. He did exactly what was needed and proved that our developments worked. We’re not where we want to be yet, but it’s rewarding to watch our progress. My car was good in Q1, but I couldn't find the grip in Q2. The tire pressure may have been too high, but we don't yet know exactly what happened. The race will be difficult starting from 14th place on the grid. » Martin Whitmarsh nevertheless remains confident about the potential of the former world champion. “I’m sure he could have also made it to Q3 like Checo did. The ambitions of McLaren are higher than a place in Q3 and our MP4-28 still requires a lot of development before being competitive. But we understand the car better and better and I am convinced that we will succeed. »