Sergio Perez will once again have to work his way through the field if he hopes to threaten his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Perez had to settle for seventh on the grid after a chaotic final qualifying session on a constantly evolving track surface at Circuit Zandvoort.
The damp conditions had caught out both Logan Sargeant and Charles Leclerc in Q3, with the two red flag stoppages allowing for the track to dry rapidly.
“It was quite disruptive, with the amount of time we waited in the garage, obviously the sun was out at that time but it was quite hard to know how much it has dried up and when we went out,” the Red Bull driver said.
“I think we probably took the wrong strategy in regards to making a double warm up lap, well a double push lap. I think we took too much out of the tyre but as always you know the better strategy after the session.
“Anyway we are P7 and tomorrow the main target is to have a strong start and then go forwards from there.
“We are pushing every single weekend to improve, to make our car better and that’s our main target for now.”
Verstappen will start the race on pole, with drivers from five different teams separating the two Red Bull drivers on the grid.
There is also a chance that Saturday’s changeable conditions could return for the race, creating a further hurdle for Perez to overcome.
Despite the challenge that awaits him, the Mexican is confident that he will be able to progress through the field on Sunday.
“It’s going to be tricky definitely, certainly tomorrow with the amount of fast cars around us it will be hard to make progress but I’m confident we can make it,” he added.
Ex-Red Bull racer Alex Albon is one of those starting ahead of Perez after the Thai driver dragged his Williams to a second-row start.
“They’ve [Williams] been really strong, he’s been doing a great weekend, driving really well and they have very strong straight-line speed so it will be interesting to see what we are able to do.”
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