Perez claims 'pole would have been possible' for the sprint

Sergio Perez starts the sprint race for the Brazilian Grand Prix from third place. Certainly not a bad result for the Red Bull Racing driver, yet he is convinced there could have been more in it - maybe even pole position.

Perez showed from Friday at Interlagos on several occasions that he could keep up nicely with teammate Max Verstappen's pace. He showed that again in the sprint shootout by qualifying third for the sprint race, just behind Verstappen.

In qualifying for the sprint race, Perez finished third, but the 33-year-old Mexican himself thinks the front row of the grid would have been possible. "We had this pace since yesterday, unfortunately, we couldn't show it in qualifying. I think today with a new set of softs, pole could have been possible," he informed Fox Sports.

"We know sprints can be chaotic so we'll just try to get some points," he added. Lando Norris took pole position for the sprint race at Interlagos, with Verstappen's Red Bull just behind.