Sergio Perez is optimistic about a “more straightforward” Qatar Grand Prix after admitting a set-up issue hampered his Japan weekend.
Red Bull encountered a tough outing in Singapore that witnessed its record-breaking winning run come to an abrupt end as both cars exited the second stage of qualifying.
But while Max Verstappen rebounded emphatically to dominate in Japan, Perez qualified six-tenths adrift of his team-mate at Suzuka before contact with Kevin Magnussen saw him retire from the race.
Perez, however, explains that a rueful set-up direction was responsible for the huge deficit he upheld to Verstappen at the last round.
“Asia wasn’t good for me at all, Singapore and obviously Suzuka,” Perez reflected. “It’s mainly the direction we took with the set-up of the car.
“Now looking back at it, we do understand where it went wrong, and I really hope that we are able to have a much more straightforward weekend here.
“But I think we’ve learned a lot [about] what went wrong in Suzuka, so I do expect to be in a much better position this weekend.”
Verstappen’s 13th victory of the season secured the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull in Japan and has also put him on the verge of clinching the Drivers’ title.
Perez, meanwhile, has only triumphed twice this year, with his extensive struggles throughout the campaign prompting repeated speculation over his future.
The Mexican highlights that his season initially began to spiral at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, the second event in a five-round span that saw him fail to progress to Q3.
“First of all, Max has done a tremendous job. I think no credit should be taken away from this season that he has done,” Perez, who trails Verstappen by 177 points, stated. “I think he’s driven on another level compared to anyone else and I think that’s something that I have a lot of respect for.
“Secondly, from my side, I feel like Barcelona was quite a turning point. I was always chasing the weekend.
“Sometimes you have weekends where things are coming a lot more naturally and you’re just two or three steps ahead. I feel like since Barcelona, I was starting to struggle and have some deficits with the car.”
Although he has only recorded four podium finishes across the past 11 races, Perez still retains a 33-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship.
Perez is bidding to avoid being pipped to the runner-up post for the second consecutive year, citing how it would provide him with some early momentum heading into next year.
“It’s important because that’s the best I can get now,” he added regarding the standings.
“More than that, to me it’s very important to finish the season on a high too, because that only helps the start of next year. So to me it’s very important to get on top of it and make sure that we are able to deliver in the next six races.”
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