F1 News: Sergio Perez Points At 'Fundamental' Issues On The RB20 After Las Vegas Qualifying Horror

Saajan Jogia | 4 Hours Ago

Nov 22, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) during practice at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has opened up about "fundamental" problems on the RB20 F1 car that led him to qualify P16 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The poor result could inflict further damage to Red Bull's championship prospects in the race, potentially allowing Ferrari to extend its lead in the Constructors' Championship.

The Mexican driver has come under scrutiny for his performances this season, sparking reports of his potential ousting from the team as Red Bull evaluates the performances of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson in its junior team, VCARB. Being out in Q1, while Lawson made it to Q2, followed by Tsunoda securing an impressive P7 in Q3, the Perez will have some serious catching up to do in the Grand Prix on the Strip. Explaining his poor run due to a lack of pace and grip, Perez said:

“We’ve been lacking a lot of pace through the qualifying, and that’s been the main issue really for us.

“So it didn’t get any better.

“In hindsight, we should have used two sets given that we were not so competitive in Q1.

“I think just compromising the low speed has been quite tricky. And then the sliding. I feel like, if I slide a little bit too much one tyre then I finished it.”

Perez explained that the car was not "working" for him due to a "fundamental issue." This comes months after Red Bull discovered the balance problem on the car but was only acknowledged by his team once his teammate Max Verstappen began to face challenges. He added:

“I think we got a fundamental issue at the moment with the car that is just not working for me.

“It’s where the whole brain is going, you know trying to fix it instead of compromising.

“At the moment, we come to the weekends and we just explore a lot of things, and then it’s just a difficult one to make it work.

“It’s obviously not ideal. You know you want to be up there, especially when I know what I can do. But when you don’t have that grip underneath you then it’s really hard, and you’re prone to a lot of mistakes and so on.”

Speaking on his prospects for the Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver said:

“I think tomorrow is going to be a very tricky one.

“There’s a long race ahead, a lot of things will happen, and I believe that we are more competitive come races because yesterday we looked a lot better over the long race then over a single lap.”