Crashing in Monaco and again in Montreal, Sergio Perez admits he needs to “regroup” having slipped to fifth place in the standings where he trails Max Verstappen by 87 points.
In a season where Red Bull’s rivals are nipping at their heels, Sergio Perez made a good start with a hat-trick of runner-up results behind Verstappen in the first four races.
Sergio Perez: No doubt that I cannot be back to that level
But his fourth podium of this season, a P3 in China which was another race won by his team-mate, was his last.
In the races since, Perez has a best result of P4 while he recorded back-to-back retirements in Monaco and Canada. More worrying, though, is his qualifying form.
The Mexican driver has not featured in the pole position shoot-out at the last three races and, in Monte Carlo and Montreal, he didn’t even make it out of Q1.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has denied it’s the car as Perez claimed, after all, Verstappen is still winning races.
For Perez though, it’s now a moment to regroup with the driver accepting his Canadian Grand Prix crash when he spun off at Turn 5 was his mistake.
“It was a difficult weekend,” he told the media in Montreal. “First part of the race was compromised with the damage with Gasly.
“Second part of the race was looking a lot better. Third part of the race, we were just stuck there – there was only one line [and] we couldn’t get by.
“In the end, I was coming back and I ended up making a mistake in Turn 6, which was one of the most difficult corners, where a lot of drivers made mistakes.
“But, unfortunately, I was one of those few. I couldn’t control the car, I made a mistake.
“I think it’s time to regroup, put our heads down. It’s a long season to season, there is no doubt that I cannot be back to that level.”
Why Sergio Perez won’t have a ‘straightforward’ weekend in Spain
The driver believes a straightforward weekend would go a long way towards ensuring a good result but he won’t have that at the next race in Spain as he’s starting off with a three-place grid penalty.
Perez, who re-signed with Red Bull after Monaco, was hit with the penalty on Sunday evening after the stewards ruled he’d returned to the pits with a “significantly damaged” car which was a safety issue.
“I think just having a straightforward weekend,” he said. “We have a car issue in qualifying which with these margins you can be knocked out in Q1 with very small margins.
“So just having a straightforward weekend. I think the pace is there, the confidence is there.
“I obviously want to take my time to analyse everything together with the team and make sure that we are able to come back stronger.”
