Sergio Perez put his Q1 exit during qualifying for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix down to a “fundamental issue” with his Red Bull RB20.
Perez suffered yet another Q1 exit in 2024, finishing 16th in qualifying around the Las Vegas Strip circuit.
The early elimination was the Mexican’s second in three races as his dismal form continued.
Max Verstappen wrestled his Red Bull to fifth in qualifying in the Nevada desert, but Perez blamed issues with his machine when speaking to select media including Motorsport Week.
“I think we’ve got a fundamental issue at the moment with the car that is just not working for me,” he said.
“At the moment, we come to the weekends and we just explore a lot of things, and yeah, it’s just a difficult one to make it work.
“It’s obviously not ideal.
“You want to be up there, especially I know what I can do.
“But when you don’t have that grip underneath you, then it’s really hard, and you’re prone to a lot of mistakes and so on.”
Speaking about his specific struggles in Vegas, Perez rued not using two sets of Softs to ensure he advanced to Q2.
“We’ve been lacking a lot of pace through the qualifying, and that’s been the main issue really for us,” he said.
“So it didn’t get any better, and in hindsight, we should have used two sets, given that we were not so competitive in Q1.
“The main struggle is really that low speed with the tyres, it’s where the main struggle comes from.”
Red Bull race prospects marginally better than one-lap performance says Perez
Compounding Red Bull’s issues in Vegas is the lack of a low-drag rear wing, hampering the Milton Keynes-based outfit on the straights.
That will make life tricky for Perez as he tries to fight his way through the pack on race day, but the Mexican is still optimistic.
Following race runs in practice, Perez believes the Red Bull will be better in Grand Prix trim compared to qualifying.
“I think tomorrow is going to be a very tricky one,” he began.
“Yeah, there’s a long race ahead, a lot of things will happen, and I believe we will be more competitive come race day.
“[Thursday] we looked a lot better over the long race than over a single lap.”
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