P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Sergio Perez finished 40 seconds adrift of Max Verstappen in last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
During the United States Grand Prix weekend, Sergio Perez revealed that Red Bull found more differences between the old and new floors of their cars than anticipated. Max Verstappen solely used the upgraded floor and secured sprint pole, F1 sprint victory, and a third-place finish in the main race, while Perez, without the upgrade, finished ninth in the sprint and seventh in the race. Perez expressed his frustration about being stuck behind midfields and losing valuable seconds at the end of the race with Franco Colapinto, stressing the need to improve pace and understand the floor differences with the team.
As Perez prepares for the Mexico City Grand Prix, considered the most crucial weekend for him due to strong local support, uncertainty looms over whether he will have the new floor at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Verstappen demonstrated a significant pace advantage over Perez at the US GP, highlighting the benefits of the new floor in high-speed and braking scenarios. Perez acknowledged the importance of resolving these issues and possibly introducing a new floor specification in the future to enhance performance.