Sergio Perez says Racing Point still has to unlock further performance from its RP19, having been a relative midfield tail-ender during Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Perez qualified in 14th position and went on to race into the top 10, but only picked up the final point on offer when both Renault drivers suffered separate engine failures with three laps remaining.
“It feels okay, not fantastic,” Perez told Motorsport Week about his Bahrain Grand Prix.
“But I know it’s a long year so there is a lot of improvements we can make.
“This time last year I didn’t have any points so it’s a better start than last year and I always finish high in the championship, so it’s a long year.
“We just have to keep improving, at the moment we are quite far but hopefully in the coming races we can be a bit stronger.”
In the midfield fight Racing Point was beaten by McLaren, Alfa Romeo and Toro Rosso, with Renault also running in front until its late drama.
“There was a lot of sliding with the wind so it was hard to work with the tyres, I think it was more down to the car [than the wind],” he added.
“The car didn’t perform with this asphalt. It’s not a fantastic track for us.
“But I think at low speed, [corner] entry stability at the rear end is where we need more support.”
Racing Point team-mate Lance Stroll classified 14th in the wake of a first-lap collision with Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
