Perez balks: 'So many problems, couldn't fix any of them'

Sergio Perez briefly seemed to survive Q2 and go through to the decisive Q3 in tenth place, but race control threw a spanner in the works. The Mexican's time was deleted and so he dropped to P13. The current number two in the world championship balked on his Friday in Qatar.

"It was quite difficult. We struggled a lot for balance. We had so many issues that I just couldn't fix any of them. Every corner was pretty much different. I think the conditions are very difficult though. I just struggled a lot today in qualifying," Perez summed up his evening session to Sky Sports. It was the eighth time this season that he failed early in qualifying.

Perez needs to recover

So on Sunday, Perez will start from the seventh row of the grid. Lewis Hamilton, the number three in the World Championship, will start from third. A great chance for the Mercedes driver to make up a good chunk of points, Perez needs to limit the damage as much as possible.

In any case, Perez is not going to sit back after a lesser Friday. "Yes, it's not over. It's obviously going to be very difficult to pass, especially with the track conditions that we currently have. We'll see what we are able to do and recover from that." Moreover, tomorrow is 'sprint day' at the Losail International Circuit and there will also be another eight points to earn for the World Championship.