Perez blames his elimination in SQ1 on a duel with Leclerc

Sergio Perez did not improve his situation in Qatar on Friday evening. While his place in Red Bull is still under threat for 2025, the Mexican driver has once again distinguished himself negatively by being eliminated in SQ1 during the qualifying session of the Sprint. Only 16th, Czech was largely beaten by the man presented as his main rival, Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, 9th).

« We left the pits a little late, said Perez after the session. We had a problem with one of the anti-roll bars and then on my last lap we all opened up a gap and Charles (Leclerc) came in. We fought through Turn 1 and so on, we lost a few tenths at that point, enough to be eliminated unfortunately. »

A Sprint to forget for Red Bull?

« It's a shame because I feel like we really improved with the car between Free Practice and Qualifying, Judge Perez. We had much more potential and it's a shame we ended up here. "For the native of Guadalajara (Mexico), a good result in the Sprint this Saturday is already compromised, echoing the statements of his teammate Max Verstappen, who will nevertheless be much better placed on the grid this afternoon (6th).

Max Verstappen does not appreciate the balance of his car in Qatar – Photo: Florent Gooden / DPPI

« The Sprint will probably be difficult compared to the other cars around me because of the balance of the car, judges the one who is now four times world champion from Las Vegas. For the rest of the qualifiers, we'll see if we can improve the situation a little bit. I don't expect everything to suddenly be turned upside down and it will work. Let's be honest, it's not extraordinary. »

« I don't really have a rhythm, insists the Dutchman. I'm slow. I don't really have the balance to attack on the entry and in the middle of the corner. The car is a little bit behind, which makes it really difficult here. We're good at high speed, but everything else is not acceptable and it makes it difficult to attack." 

Join us this Saturday at 15 p.m. for the sprint race, followed at 19 p.m. by the Grand Prix qualifying session.

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