Sergio Perez claims it will be a “challenge” for Red Bull to beat Ferrari at the Australian GP

Scuderia Ferrari seemed right on par with Red Bull's pace on Friday. Sergio Perez expects the Scuderia to pose a threat to Milton Keynes in Qualifying.

Sergio Perez claims it will be a “challenge” for Red Bull to beat Ferrari at the Australian GP

Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc (Via IMAGO)

Red Bull Racing has dominated Formula 1 in the ground-effect era. Max Verstappen has been in a league of his own against the competition. However, Scuderia Ferrari has been working extensively to catch up with Milton Keynes. Now, Sergio Perez has admitted that Maranello could pose a threat to the reigning world champions after free practice at Albert Park.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timing sheets in FP2 ahead of Max Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz. Perez finished the session in P6. The Mexican driver claimed that the Scuderia have been strong at the Australian GP in the past. Leclerc previously won the 2022 Australian GP. Sergio Perez highlighted that the Italian team showed promising pace in long runs in free practice.

They’ve [Ferrari] been quite strong I think [at] this track, [it] seems to be better for them. They’ve been quite strong also on the long runs.
Sergio Perez told F1
YouTube video

Subsequently, Checo reckoned that it could be a challenge to beat Ferrari this weekend. Moreover, Sergio Perez admitted that Red Bull could lose pole position to the Italian squad. The 34-year-old highlighted that the Scuderia has been particularly quick when it comes to one-lap pace this season.

Yeah, I think so. I think they’re generally quite fast so that will be interesting.

Max Verstappen opens up on “messy” Friday outing at the Australian GP

Max Verstappen had an unusual Friday at Albert Park. The three-time world champion ran wide in FP1 which caused damage to the floor of the radically-designed RB-20. Red Bull mechanics rushed to repair the car. However, this led to the Dutch driver losing 20 crucial minutes of on-track running in the second practice session.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen ( Image via IMAGO)

Verstappen admitted that it had been a messy day at Albert Park. The 26-year-old acknowledged that his mistake caused damage to the floor and the chassis of his car. However, the Dutch driver reckoned that he was able to finish the program for free practice. Although the three-time world champion confessed that he would have liked a few more laps in his long run simulation.

Unfortunately a little bit messy because of what happened in FP1. I went wide, damaged the floor and also the chassis...  I do think the turnaround was very quick, we did it as a team so I more or less completed the program still. Long-run I would have liked maybe a few more laps.
Max Verstappen told F1

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez likely have the fastest car this weekend. Despite the pace of the two Ferraris, Red Bull remain the favorites for winning the Australian GP. However, it will be interesting to see if Verstappen is challenged by Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz for pole in Qualifying before an exciting battle in the race.

In case you missed it: