Perez eager to fight for podium places again
Following a series of disappointing races, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is buoyed by his race speed he showed at the Hungaroring and is intent on re-establishing himself as a podium contender.
Having shown impressive speed across the practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez endured a shock result in qualifying. The Mexican crashed out in the opening segment of qualifying, and as a result of his mistake, he was forced to start the Budapest race from P16 on the grid.
Although a clever strategy saw him work his way up to P7, it was another disappointing round for the six-time F1 race winner. However, his race pace looked encouraging which made the Mexican hopeful that he can finally rejoin the battle at the sharp end of the field.
"The recovery we managed on Sunday in Hungary was very positive. I think it showed how comfortable I was in the car over the weekend and the potential we had.
"It’s frustrating that we didn’t get to fight for the podium, because we had the ability to be up there with the race performance we showed, the final stint was very promising. Now it’s down to me to put the whole weekend together in Belgium and I am confident we can.
"We are working well together as a Team and what my mechanics were able to do to rebuild my car overnight in Budapest shows the incredible hard work everyone puts in, day in and day out. There’s one race to go before the summer break and I want to repay my Team for last weekend with a good result, they are all that matter to me," concluded Perez.
His team-mate Max Verstappen was locked in a fierce fight with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Hungaroring, but he fractionally missed out on pole position.
The Dutchman was unable to keep up with the papaya cars, but he was fighting for the last podium place with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton instead. After the pair came together at Turn 1, the championship runaway leader had to settle for fifith.
Expanding on this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix which he utterly dominated in the last two years, the Hasselt-born added: "Spa has always been my favourite track, with its fast corners and lots of opportunities for overtaking.
"The fans are also great and we receive a lot of support there. Hungary was a tricky race and a weekend to forget and move forward from.
"We have been working as a Team to optimise our performance and get the best out of the car that we possibly can. Of course the weather makes things a bit more unpredictable but we will see what the race brings.
"The Team have been working very hard and, being the last race before the summer break, we are looking forward to having a well deserved rest and want to come back stronger; for this weekend, we will try and deliver the best result possible," noted the Dutchman.
