F1 News: Sergio Perez Ridicules Red Bull Dominance Theory - "Going To Be Tight Battle"

Sergio Perez laughed at the claim that the RB20 was a second faster than the rest.

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has ridiculed the theory that Red Bull will dominate the grid through a strong performance advantage over the competition. Looking at the Bahrain GP FP2 positions and timings, the Mexican driver suggested that other teams have upped the pace of their cars and it is "going to be a very tight battle" ahead.

Key Takeaways:

• Red Bull driver Sergio Perez dismisses the theory of Red Bull dominating the grid, citing that other teams have improved their pace, and the competition will be closely contested.
• Perez suggests that the battle for the win during qualifying will be challenging, contrary to the belief that Red Bull has a significant advantage.
• Despite facing difficulties in Bahrain FP1 and FP2, Perez anticipates the challenges, emphasizes the importance of learning the track, and expresses optimism about improving the car's balance for better performance in the race and qualifying.

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Since the inception of the ground effect era in 2022, which also brought along a certain Red Bull dominance factor into play in Formula 1, several personalities suggested that 2024 will be no different, with Red Bull dominating the grid from the beginning. 

The Milton Keynes outfit hasn't unleashed its beast, the RB20, to its maximum capacity yet, causing Max Verstappen to finish P6. Perez, who finished P10, states that the other teams have improved their machines, and the battle for the win is not going to be easy. He told the media:

“We had a lot of people talking that we were a second ahead, I was just laughing at them because I know things are a lot closer.

“They [other teams] are looking very competitive and it’s going to be a very tight battle [during qualifying].”

Despite being unable to set impressive lap times on Thursday during FP1 and FP2, Perez revealed that the challenges in Bahrain were anticipated in advance. He added:

“It was really as expected, Bahrain is quite difficult.

“FP1 to FP2, just learning the track and focus on qualifying and the race weekend will be key for us.

“We explored the car quite a lot, we didn’t have the chance to do it in testing, so generally speaking it has been good.

“The good thing is whatever we do in performance runs seems to help in the long runs.

“We just have one aim which is to have a more balanced car and that will be better for the race and qualifying.”

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