P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The disadvantage that cost Perez the front row and left him 0.7s off Verstappen
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez struggled to match the pace of his teammate Max Verstappen during qualifying for the Suzuka race, ultimately qualifying fifth. Verstappen secured a dominant pole position, setting a lap time 0.773s faster than Perez’s. Perez conceded that Verstappen had performed incredibly well and praised his teammate’s lap. He believed that he could have also made the front row if he had one more set of new soft tyres for the final qualifying session. Perez acknowledged that throughout the weekend in Japan, he felt like he was always two steps behind Verstappen and struggled to find the desired stability in his car for a quick lap. However, he expressed confidence in their race pace and hoped for a strong result in the race. Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, noted that Perez was not quite able to match Verstappen’s performance in the high-speed corners but believed that Perez’s strong race pace from the previous day would bode well for the race.
Source: Crash
