Sergio Perez showcased resilience and strategy in Bahrain, moving from fifth to second, marking a strong start to his Formula 1 season with Red Bull.
While he never quite matched his teammate’s pace in Bahrain, Sergio Perez still delivered by converting his fifth-place start into a second-place finish, securing a one-two for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari.
The Mexican thus starts this Formula 1 season on the right foot, now appearing more comfortable in the RB20.
“It’s always nice to make progress and gain positions during the race,” stated the world vice-champion.
“There were a lot of on-track battles, and here, you adopt a very different strategy once that happens. You slide a lot more in traffic. And I think, overall, it’s a very good result for the team. It was quite close with Ferrari and Mercedes at the start. We were battling with DRS, and the fact that it’s now activatable after just one lap changes the game a bit.”
Perez Masters Bahrain Challenge
The 34-year-old driver kept Carlos Sainz at bay in the last stint, after having to preserve his soft tires while the Spaniard was on hards.
“I knew it was just a matter of management, because he obviously pushed us to stop early, and that was the case. And it was going to be a very long stint, so we managed to gradually build a gap, maintain it, and I think it worked out well. We had a few other issues with the car towards the end of the race, meaning our degradation got a lot worse in the last laps.”
Regarding his ease behind the wheel of the RB20 this Saturday, Perez admits that “it was a very pleasant surprise.”
“We were expecting the people around us to be much stronger. I think this is probably the worst possible place regarding tire degradation. Jeddah will therefore be a very different challenge, and it will be interesting to see where we stand there.”
In Saudi Arabia, the Mexican will return to a circuit where he triumphed last season, expecting another strong performance.
“I also think the car will be strong there with all those high-speed turns. So, we should have another good weekend ahead.”
Perez Bahrain Red Bull Strategy. Perez Bahrain Red Bull Strategy
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