Sergio Perez may have got himself back in Formula 1’s points in Hungary, but his Red Bull bosses are clear they still want to see more from him.
The Mexican produced what team principal Christian Horner reckoned was his strongest race since the Chinese Grand Prix in April as he came home seventh having started down in 16th.
But while his race pace was strong, Horner is well aware that Hungary marked the second consecutive F1 weekend where Perez had been knocked out of Q1 after a crash.
Horner is clear that Red Bull needs drivers who can deliver on each day of an F1 weekend, and not just in the race.
“Yeah, that’s something that has to change,” he said, in reference to Perez’s latest qualifying stumble.
Reflecting on Perez’s recovery drive in the race, Horner added: “That was probably Checo’s strongest race since China, I would say.
“So, he should take some confidence out of the race. If he had qualified more in position, you could see he would have been in a much more competitive position.”
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said that the team’s plan to evaluate the driver line-up of both its F1 outfits for the second half of the year will be taken immediately after this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
“Perez drove a very good race, and the strategy worked well,” he told ORF. “We are sticking to our approach. On the Monday after Spa, I will fly to England and discuss the procedure with Horner.”
Perez himself acknowledged that the qualifying crash was not good enough, but he said the fact that he had been so strong in the race was encouraging.
Reflecting on the Hungarian GP, he said: “I think I just have to take the positives. We had a very strong Friday, we had a strong race in terms of pace – the pace is there, so that is a positive.
Red Bull Racing RB20 of Sergio Perez after his crash
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
“The rest, I am sure it will take care of itself. It is a matter of time. The most important is that the pace is there, and I really hope that for Belgium, I can be back fighting for the podium.”
Perez put his qualifying error down to bad luck, but one he has vowed not to repeat.
“I think we were just pushing out there at the wrong time, but it could have happened to anyone,” he said.
“The track just got wetter in Turn 8. I was going through there, and some other drivers had a similar issue but to a lesser extent.
“I think I take it as it is. I will learn from those errors, but they can happen to anyone. So, head down and, like I said, the most important is the pace is there.”
Additional reporting by Ben Hunt and Sönke Brederlow
