Perez vows to complete 'deep analysis' during summer break

Sergio Perez vows to go deep on the analysis during the summer break after returning to P2 for the first time since May. The Mexican has experienced rough seas over recent months, but he is pleased to head into the summer break with that result in Belgium.

Perez started from second place and didn't stay behind pole-sitter Charles Leclerc for long. He explains the plan that he and his Red Bull team formed before the race.

"I knew that it was quite crucial for my race to get Charles [Leclerc] on lap one. We had a good launch, but he also had a good start. So it was just about making sure that we got him into turn five, and it worked well, and we were able to do basically our own race," Perez said.

Perez maintained a steady gap of just over two seconds to Max Verstappen once the Dutchman climbed to P2. But as soon as they made the switch to medium tyres, Perez lost out. "I did struggle quite a bit on that medium tyre, especially with the rain. I felt like I lost a bit of temperature on it. We really never got a good read on that tyre. The conditions were very tricky at that point," Perez added.

Summer break plans

Straight after the race, Perez said that he needed the summer break. It's hardly a surprise, given the rollercoaster ride he's been on since the start of the season. But Perez promises to look at the data so he can find improvements.

"It gives us a bit of time to go deep on our analysis, to see what we can improve for the next ten races and basically keep the momentum going for the end of the season," Perez concluded.

Perez is the closest driver to Verstappen in the World Championship, but he still needs a miracle in order to close the gap.