Sergio Perez will be eliminated in Q1 for the fifth time in the 2024 Formula 1 season – After starting from 16th place on the grid, he complains of a fundamental problem with his Red Bull
Another Q1 exit for Sergio Perez, who is already considered a dead loss at Red Bull, again nothing but frustration and guesswork. Where has the form that made the Mexican seem like a potential World Cup contender in spring 2023 gone? Perez, pushed onto the defensive, is becoming more vocal after another qualifying failure.
“I think we have a fundamental problem with the car at the moment. It’s just not working for me,” says the 34-year-old after his fifth Q1 exit this season in a car that will most likely make Max Verstappen world champion. Bitter.
“Right now, we’re putting all our brainpower into fixing it instead of making compromises. We try a lot of things over the weekends. That’s when it becomes difficult to make something work.”
All the experiments were unsuccessful in qualifying in Las Vegas. ‘Incredible, we’re just going nowhere. I couldn’t find any grip,’ Perez said in the cockpit in response to his race engineer Hugh Bird.
“Our main problem is the slow corners. We’re just lacking a lot of pace, that’s our main problem,” he said after qualifying. The fact that Red Bull is running a compromised rear wing in Las Vegas doesn’t make things any easier for Perez.
Is the situation demoralizing, especially since Perez is fighting for his cockpit despite having a valid contract for 2025? “Of course it’s not ideal,” he says. “You want to be up there [at the top], especially when you know what you’re capable of.”
“But if you don’t have the necessary grip under your feet, it’s really difficult. And then you’re also more prone to making mistakes and things like that.”
Is there still hope for the race? ‘There will be a lot of tire wear,’ Perez believes. Due to his early exit, he still has a set of soft tires left.