Sergio Perez “disappointed” after Spanish GP puts him further behind in Championship race

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez left Round 8 of the 2023 F1 season feeling underwhelmed after a tricky Spanish GP weekend.

The Mexican driver suffered more single-lap woes during qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He failed to reach Q3, putting his RB19 a lowly 11th. By comparison, teammate and Championship leader Max Verstappen cruised to pole position.

This early setback meant that Perez had to fight his way through the field in the race. While being patient to avoid damage, the Red Bull ace produced a solid comeback to climb up to fourth by the chequered flag.

Penalty looming or not, Max was determined to clock the fastest lap ????

Get up to speed with all the team radio highlights in Barcelona ????#SpanishGP @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/K6rc5t4ZcU

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2023

However, title rival Verstappen had no such difficulties. The Dutchman crushed the chasing pack to win the Spanish Grand Prix by 24 seconds. The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came home in second and third respectively.

Overall, Verstappen now has a 53-point advantage over his teammate in the drivers’ standings. This leaves “Checo” with a lot of catching up to do as the 2023 season rumbles on.

He reflected on his challenging weekend after the race.

Sergio Perez laments bad qualifying for Spanish GP disappointment

Speaking to Red Bull Media, Perez blamed his lack of success in Spain on Saturday’s poor performance.

“I am disappointed with today [the race],” admitted the Mexican. “We have ultimately paid the price for bad qualifying. We did have a good strategy, but looking at where we started from there was only so much that we could do.

“I think P3 was possible. But, if we wanted more points, then I would have had to take more risks on lap one and potentially compromise my race.”

Helter-skelter at the start ????#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CendmHOtxB

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2023

Mercedes’ George Russell actually started behind Sergio Perez, in P12. However, he managed to finish ahead of the No.11 Red Bull, who said that he used a more conservative Lap 1 approach.

“We took it easier to ensure we had more of a clean start. Then, we got stuck behind the Aston Martin and Fernando was quite hard to pass. So, it meant I couldn’t progress through the field as quickly as we would have liked.

“This weekend, in general, has been a step back. But there are plenty of things we can do better. We brought home twelve points today and I think, looking forward, Canada should be a strong race for us.

“Everything is pretty close right now, so that will be an interesting one.”

I definitely expected more from this weekend, I think the podium was possible, but it was important to secure the points and not to take more risks.
Now is time to rest a bit and focus everything on Canada.

Sin duda esperaba más de este fin de semana, creo que el podio era… pic.twitter.com/5ljhqqdFNg

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) June 4, 2023

Perez will look to close the gap in the standings to his teammate at the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time. Last year, he retired on lap seven of the race at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as Verstappen claimed the win.

Sergio Perez will thus hope the misfortune of 2022’s race and the Spanish GP stays away this time around.

Drivers’ standings: the top 10 after the Spanish Grand Prix

Driver	Team	Points
Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	170
Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	117
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	99
Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	87
George Russell	Mercedes	65
Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	58
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	42
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	35
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	25
Pierre Gasly	Alpine	15

Featured image credit: Getty