Sergio Perez says his side of the Red Bull garage must seek to understand the issues he is continuing to experience in mixed conditions amid a shock Q1 exit at the British Grand Prix.
After failing to make Q3 at the last four events, Perez was unable to progress beyond the first segment in qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Silverstone.
The Mexican driver struggled for pace throughout the mixed conditions evident in the opening stage and his final effort was only good enough for 16th fastest overall.
Perez claims the extended delay to the session restarting following a red flag period caused by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen getting stranded on the track hampered his tyre preparation on his out lap.
“Yeah, the red flag lasted longer than we expected initially, that didn’t help for the temperature of the tyre,” he explained.
“And yeah, just a shame to lose out as we had a great Friday, the race pace was looking really good, starting from the back it’s going to be another race where we try and minimise the damage.”
Having encountered issues with negotiating challenging weather conditions in qualifying in Spain, Canada and Austria recently, Perez concedes that he has a problem being competitive when rain is in the air.
“I think in this conditions it’s where I struggle the most with the car,” he acknowledged.
“My issues with the car become more apparent in the changeable conditions, so I think it’s something as a group we need to get on top of and understand what we are able to do better, simple as that.
Meanwhile, Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen surged to his fifth consecutive pole position, edging out McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.2s with a last-gasp run.
The reigning World Champion currently possesses an 82-point championship lead over Perez and will have another golden opportunity to extend that tomorrow.
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