P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The Mexican finished eighth quickest in FP2 at Imola, but was left feeling improvements are within reach.
Sergio Perez is “optimistic” that Red Bull will bounce back to its normal form following a troubled Friday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Mexican finished eighth quickest at Imola in FP2 on a day he and team leader Max Verstappen appeared to struggle, with the world champion believing the performance of the RB20 could not “get worse” following the two hours of practice. Perez finished just a tenth behind Verstappen in the second session as two drivers found themselves nearly half-a-second down on pace-setter Charles Leclerc as the field battled strong winds, especially into the Turn 17/18 braking zone. Perez admitted that Red Bull had a long night ahead to find solutions, but that he was backing the team to bounce back. “We’ve got some work to do overnight to try and pick up the best bits because everything follows the performance and high-fuel running,” Perez explained. “There is some tidy-up to do there and if we are able to pick up a nice balance into qualifying, we will be in a [good] position for race day.” I’m am optimistic for it.
