Sergio Pérez blames ‘used’ soft tires for poor eighth-place finish in Austrian GP qualifying 

Sergio Perez has now failed to make a front row start since the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this season.

Sergio Pérez blames ‘used’ soft tires for poor eighth-place finish in Austrian GP qualifying 

Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)

Red Bull Racing driver, Sergio Perez failed to put his car on the front row yet again after a disappointing qualifying session for the Mexican in Spielberg. Perez was almost nine-tenths of a second behind the time set by his teammate Max Verstappen, who secured pole position.

Sergio Perez has been one of the weaker links for Red Bull this campaign, scoring only 112 points in over ten races. However, Perez claimed that a used set of soft tires was the main hindrance in preventing the 34-year-old from setting a better time in qualifying.

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Perez starts P8 on the grid for the race on Sunday after a frustrating final run in Q3 which saw no improvements in the Mexican’s previous lap time. The six-time race winner has now failed to make a front-row start since the Chinese Grand Prix this season.

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I think the main thing is the tyre, it's hard to put a number on it but the new tyre versus the used tyre on a track where there is a lot of degradation usually has a bit of an impact.
Sergio Perez said post qualifying in Austria

Sergio Perez has also said that the ability to perform in qualifying comes down to the adaptability of a driver to a track in the shortest period, which is where the 34-year-old struggles. The Mexican will now try his best to make up the most places in a challenging race around the Red Bull Ring.

Max Verstappen credits preservation of tires in achieving pole position in Spielberg

Max Verstappen took pole position in Austria for the eighth time this season in a dominant performance by the Dutch driver, who won the sprint race earlier this afternoon. Verstappen has since credited the use of an older set of tires during the initial stages of qualifying as the main advantage for the result in Spielberg.

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
I was trying to progress through Q1 without using a new set and that worked. From there, we tried to fine-tune the balance here and there a little bit. But every lap that I did was feeling good.
Max Verstappen said post qualifying in Austria

Verstappen explained that the team suggested he run Q1 on a used set of tires after calculating the probable lap times and knockout risks. The 24-year-old claimed that the bet worked wonders for himself and Red Bull as it allowed him to push as freely as possible during the most critical stages of Q3.

Max Verstappen makes a return to the top spot on the grid for the first time since the Imola Grand Prix and thus, will be delighted with the handling of the RB20 around Spielberg. The three-time world champion will now make his best attempts at capitalizing on the opportunity to win the race on Sunday as an exciting race unfolds around the Red Bull Ring.

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