McLaren is convinced that Sergio Perez will aim to “fight hard” during Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix as the under-pressure Red Bull racer bids to end his recent plight.
Perez entered this weekend with rumours swirling over his Red Bull prospects, but he managed to secure a front-row start once Max Verstappen’s grid drop is applied.
But McLaren came unstuck in the rain with a set-up tailored to drier conditions and will line up behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, Perez, and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Nevertheless, Verstappen, who set the quickest time, believes McLaren is the favourite, while the Woking-based squad aren’t discounting the Dutchman down in 11th.
Perez being positioned ahead of the two McLarens has been viewed as a tactical advantage that Red Bull could utilise to disrupt its rival’s progress to aid Verstappen.
Lando Norris, who is Verstappen’s nearest contender in the championship, is certain that Perez will get his elbows out to boost his own chances and his team-mate’s.
Asked how concerned McLaren was about Perez acting as a roadblock to assist Verstappen’s charge, Norris responded: “I wouldn’t say a concern, obviously.
“Same as for a race against Max, we have to get past all of them and Checo would potentially have a bit more defensive mindset than the others.
“Charles is sort of fighting off pole and for a win, so he’s going to be fighting hard for it. He’s not just going to let things go easily.
“Same with Hamilton. He’s always going to be aggressive and defensive when he needs to be.
“So I wouldn’t say Perez is any more of a threat from that side, but he’s in the quickest car, so we need to look at getting past that.
“I don’t know if we’re going to make our tyres last better than him, but I don’t think it’s going to be harder than some of the others.
“I think when you look at the pace from Friday, it gives us decent amount of confidence that we can keep our heads down and focus on ourselves and get through at some point.”
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri thinks it is inevitable that Perez will be determined to avoid going backwards as he strives to contribute to protecting Red Bull’s points lead.
“I think more or less the same,” Piastri added.
“I think with the degradation… I pitted at one point in practice and that was three seconds a lap faster than the car ahead of me.
“If you manage to defend the car behind three seconds quicker than you, that’s pretty impressive.
“So I think it will kind of work itself out naturally, let’s say, depending on how the race goes.
“But obviously we’re in a fight with Red Bull in the Constructors and Max is leading the World Championship in the Drivers’ standings, so he’ll expect to put up a fight.
“I think even for his own sake. It’s not going to be the easiest run for him and I think, of course, more than anyone who probably wants a really good result for himself.
“So I think he’ll fight hard for it, but I don’t think he’ll be any harder than he would be if he was ahead of us.”
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