F1 News: Sergio Perez Reflects On Japanese GP P2 Finish - ‘Paid The Price’

Sergio Perez speaks out on his P2 finish at the legendary Suzuka circuit.

Jun 18, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (MEX) parades and salutes / David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

In a reflective post-race interview, Red Bull's Sergio Perez shared his insights on securing the runner-up position at the Japanese Grand Prix, acknowledging a challenging race. The Mexican driver noted the impact of an unbalanced car in the initial stages, which influenced his race strategy and performance.

Key Takeaways:

• Perez experienced difficulty maintaining focus during the restart but managed a better second start, though not sufficient to overtake team leader Max Verstappen.
• An imbalance in the car during the first stint led to an early pit stop, allowing Lando Norris to gain an advantage and forcing Perez to overexert on the medium tyres.
• Improved comfort and pace on the hard tyres marked the latter part of the race for Perez, despite the earlier setbacks.

May 7, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull driver Sergio Perez (11) of Mexico celebrates on / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Sergio Perez expressed a mix of satisfaction and reflection on the events of the Japanese Grand Prix. The Red Bull racer candidly discussed the complexities of managing a restart and the challenges it posed to his focus, particularly highlighting that despite an improved second start, it fell short of overtaking his teammate, Max Verstappen. He commented in his post-race interview:

"It was a good weekend for the team.

"First of all, I think obviously with the start, doing that restart again, it’s always quite hard to keep the focus for such a long period of time. It worked alright. My second start was a little bit better but just not enough to get Max.

"I think we paid the price a little bit because we were a little bit off balance during that first stint, which meant we couldn’t keep it alive. We had to box and we were undercut by Lando and then I had to push too much on that medium stint.

"But then on the hard stint I was a lot more comfortable. The pace came back. But I think I suffered a bit from that first stint a bit on balance. I think we are in a good momentum."

Perez drew comparisons to his past experiences at the Suzuka circuit, noting significant improvements:

“If you remember here last year was probably my worst weekend. So I think if we are strong in places like this with a lot of high and medium-speed corners, I think we can be strong anywhere else."

The weekend's race also saw Max Verstappen clinching victory, further solidifying Red Bull's dominance in the season, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz completing the podium.