Sergio Perez, Red Bull, Circuit de Catalunya, 2021

Perez has “toughest qualifying” for Red Bull after shoulder pain and spin

2021 Spanish Grand Prix

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Sergio Perez said today’s qualifying session was his “toughest” for Red Bull so far after suffering pain with his shoulder.

He also spun on his first lap in Q3 on his way to eighth on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Team mate Max Verstappen will line up second.

“It was a bit of a struggle,” said Perez. “I didn’t feel 100% with myself today.

“I had a bit of an issue with my shoulder through qualifying, and I was just feeling bad all the way through it.”

Perez said the problem with his left shoulder was “just getting worse and worse as quali developed and I struggled a bit more with it.”

“I don’t think it’s something I’ve done with the car,” he added. “We don’t know 100% what it is but we’re pretty confident that we can be back to form for tomorrow.”

Red Bull has “reviewed everything” to improve Perez’s comfort. “We should be back to 100% tomorrow.”

Although he reached the top 10 in qualifying, a spin at the start of Q3 consigned Perez to a fourth-row start.

“It was just a bad day. I didn’t get a good lap throughout the day. Q1 was looking alright, but we didn’t make any progress after that. I wasn’t 100% so it was very hard to get the best out of the car in qualifying.”

“It’s been the toughest qualifying,” he admitted. “Not feeling 100% physically was a big limitation.”

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11 comments on “Perez has “toughest qualifying” for Red Bull after shoulder pain and spin”

  1. At least he’s shouldering some of the blame (I’ll get my coat).

    1. @john-h Not bad actually :OP
      It does actually help explain the size of the gap to Verstappen, especially as he’s already outqualified the latter this season.

    2. Very good John-H, :))

    3. Let’s just hope it is not a chip on his shoulder.

  2. Only Facts!
    8th May 2021, 17:30

    Four qualifying sessions so far, one not so good for Perez, one good one and two bad ones. When it comes to race day, more or less the same.

    Those fluctuating results show the combination that puzzled the two former RedBull wing men: a car that needs to be driven on the edge and tons of pressure to perform, inside and out.

    If they don’t support him he’ll fail like the other ones. He needs Wolff type of support to Bottas, Zack Brown type of friendship to Ricciardo and Horner type of complacency to Albon.

    His career was over mid 2020, despite strong results. He has nothing to loose. RBR needs him to perform more than he needs them.

    But he’s running out of excuses.

  3. I wasn’t aware of him feeling unwell, but this might partly explain his surprising slowness. An unideal grid position on this track, but nothing’s lost for the race.

    1. but nothing’s lost for the race

      @jerejj Agree with the explanation, but not so sure about the race. First his shoulder may not improve. And second the cars in front look competitive. It may depend on how many stops the different teams do and whether Checo can capitalize on that.

      1. If they drugs him up he will be fine for the race. Hoping he gets into the mix. Really.hipijg for a riccardo podium. Unlikley but i can hooe. Really want him to perez to shine this year.

  4. W (@vishnusxdx)
    9th May 2021, 7:57

    Poor guy carries the entire weight of the RBR WCC title fight on his shoulders.

    1. @vishnusxdx Yes it’s tough, but I never expected him to wilt this much.. 1 second is simply a disaster, even with shoulder pain. And to do his worst on the track where it matters the most to be on the 2nd row..

      I can’t see it getting any better either. Such a shame when there could have been a championship fight. Now we’re basically back to one Red Bull against 2 Mercedes like with Albon and Gasly.

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