Sergio Perez, a hometown hero, suffered a dismal Q1 exit in qualifying for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix due to ongoing braking troubles with his Red Bull RB20.
A lot was riding on Perez in Mexico City on Saturday, but he just couldn’t produce in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Red Bull driver finished 18th and left to speak with select media, including Motorsport Week, earlier than he had hoped.
Perez struggled to stop the Red Bull and navigate the difficult corners at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
“I’ve been struggling quite a bit with braking,” a dejected Perez stated on Saturday afternoon.
“When I try to brake and assault the brakes, I just put
too much energy through the tyres, which makes it difficult for me to stop the car.” Perez went on to say that the problem has plagued him “for the last three races,” and the results back that up.
The Mexican qualified tenth for the United States Grand Prix and thirteenth in Singapore the previous round.
“I cannot stop the car,” he cried. “I’m having to modulate my braking quite a bit, which we can see in the statistics, but we can’t repair it right now.
“Given that it’s all surface sensitivity here [in Mexico], it makes it a lot harder.”
Perez reflects on’very unsatisfactory’ Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying
A year after his Lap 1 DNF in front of his home supporters due to an excessive Turn 1 maneuver on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Perez was anxious to make amends this weekend.
With his Red Bull career on the line, Perez stated on Thursday that while he had no “regrets” from last year, he wanted “to give everything to these people because the amount of support I get here, it’s pretty insane.”
Unfortunately, on a circuit with few overtaking opportunities and concerns that extend beyond qualifying, Perez’s comeback for Sunday’s GP appears futile.
“It’s going to be harder [on Sunday], because [the brake issue] is also present there in the long runs,” said the coach.
“I will try everything. I will see what we can do with the team and what solutions we can come up with.”
“It’s clearly quite frustrating. This is a grand prix that I want to achieve well. Unfortunately, this event has proven to be quite challenging and tricky.”
With little to gain from finishing 18th on the grid, Perez was questioned if it was worth disassembling his RB20, making alterations, and starting from the rear of the grid.
“We will discuss all of the options,” Perez responded. “It probably signifies that we are likewise pretty limited in the parts that we have available. We do not have the desired floor specification. I’m not sure; we’ll definitely address it with the team.”
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