Perez brands another early qualifying elimination "a shame" in Qatar

It was a positive start to the 2024 season for Perez, which saw him get a two-year contract extension at Red Bull Racing as a result. However, since then, his performances have been very poor, rarely getting himself into the final session of qualifying, meaning his races are all but ruined before they even begin.

As he did at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last weekend, Perez did not progress beyond the first part of qualifying in Qatar for tomorrow's sprint race, while teammate Max Verstappen once again made it into the final part of the session without any fuss at all.

Perez does not blame himself for SQ1 exit in Qatar

Speaking to F1TV after his SQ1 elimination, Perez reacted to another disappointing performance: "We left a little bit late, and we had an issue with one of the anti-roll bars. And then, to get my final lap, we were all opening gaps, and then Charles came, and we were fighting into turn one and so on, and I lost a couple of tenths there. That was enough to be knocked out," Perez explained.

Perez was enthusiastic about the state of the RB20 at the start of the weekend in Qatar: "Unfortunately, it was a shame because I felt like we really progressed with the car from P1 to qualifying. We had a lot more potential, and it's a shame that we just ended up here," the Red Bull driver continued.

But as a result of the P16 finish, the Mexican does not hold out much hope for the sprint race: "I think it's going to be very difficult. I think, for now, we will focus on the rest of the weekend in such a short race. I don't think there will be a lot that we can do. But yeah, we will try," Perez concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy

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