Sergio Perez is adamant he never “forgot how to drive” as he secured a front-row starting spot at the Belgian Grand Prix to bring an end to his recent Formula 1 slump.
Perez came into this weekend under pressure to deliver amid Red Bull’s declaration that an evaluation on his place will take place during the upcoming summer break.
The Mexican, who has logged 21 points in the last seven rounds, responded to that with an impressive showing in the wet at Spa-Francorchamps as he qualified third.
However, Perez almost endured another disaster as he slipped to 10th in Q2 and Williams’ Alex Albon came within 0.003 seconds from eliminating the Red Bull driver.
“The problem was our run program,” Perez explained. “We finished a lap before everyone.
“I think I was P4 or something but then when you give a lap away everything was really close so we were very lucky to be able to make it.
“I think it was definitely a mistake on our run program to left us that vulnerable basically.”
But although he advanced into the pole position shootout and ended up inside the top three, Perez has conceded that it was a struggle to unlock an ideal car balance.
Asked whether he has been happier with his car’s handling this weekend, Perez responded: “Not initially. We tried a lot of things.
“We kept throwing things at it and it’s never ideal when you don’t have progression. Once again today we tried a lot of things.
“I think we found a nicer window a little bit similar in the direction of Hungary, but we were a lot happier with the car.
“So I think although I mean it’s on the Inter conditions, but the balance in the medium, high speed was feeling positive in the right direction.
“Let’s see tomorrow. I think tomorrow it’s going to be a very different day and let’s see how much we are able to improve.”
With team-mate Max Verstappen, who posted the fastest time, incurring a 10-place grid drop, the onus was on Perez to rise to the occasion to lead Red Bull’s charge.
But despite achieving his best starting position since the Chinese Grand Prix in April, Perez has stressed that the mounting pressure has not been a problem for him.
“From my point of view it doesn’t change anything,” he stated regarding the criticism that he has received in recent months.
“I’ve always said it’s not where we are now it’s how you ride the waves and where we finish in Abu Dhabi.
“I mean there are a lot of drivers that haven’t been able to maximize their performance lately but obviously the scrutiny on my side has been quite a bit higher.
“It doesn’t change anything from my point of view. I think tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity.
“It would have been the same if I was knocked out in Q2, tomorrow is a new opportunity to do better and in the way I see it it’s tomorrow what really counts.
“And if I don’t have a good race tomorrow I will try to have a good one in Zandvoort.
“But it’s how it is this is a sport and sometimes it goes your way sometimes you have to fight and nothing goes in your direction but I think it’s just the nature of the sport.”
Perez, who has insisted he will not lose his Red Bull drive, has claimed that this breakthrough result has been coming based on promising signs in previous weekends.
“More than confidence, I mean it’s not like I forgot how to drive you know from five, six races ago,” he highlighted.
“With a lot of drivers sometimes you’re not able to maximize the full potential of your car.
“For that reason you end up lacking that let’s say confidence to extract the maximum out of the car you have.
“I think we’ve been taking good step forwards in the right direction since Hungary.
“I think Silverstone was already good, had a really good Friday, so I think the car is going in the right direction for now.
“Hopefully tomorrow we are able to finish it off with a strong result and still there is a long way to go in the season.
“So head down and I think like I’ve said before you know the team myself are focusing on and what we gotta do at the end of the day.
“It’s getting the most points we possibly can and the rest couldn’t care less to be honest.”
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