Sergio Perez says he’s still not fully comfortable at the wheel of his Red Bull, despite recent improvements in its handling.
The Red Bull driver has found the RB19 increasingly difficult to handle as the team has developed its latest car. While team mate Max Verstappen scored 10 consecutive victories while Perez endured a five-race run in which he failed to reach Q3.
Perez has improved his form in recent races and reached the podium in three of the four rounds prior to last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, where Red Bull were much less competitive. Speaking ahead of the race, he said he was still driving the car “not so naturally” but “we’ve made a lot of progress to make me drive more naturally.”
“I’m definitely feeling that I’m going back to where I started in terms of how I was driving the car,” said Perez, who won two of the first four races this year. “I think we made a lot of progress in the last few races in that regard, we did some set-up adjustments as well to adapt.”
He dismissed speculation that Red Bull intended their car to suit his team mate’s driving style. “I wouldn’t say that it’s the car designed around Max,” he added. “It’s just the fact that sometimes, you see it with the other teams, you bring upgrades to the car and it will suit one driver more than the other.
“It’s not that they’re making that upgrade specifically to one driver, they’re just trying to make the fastest car they possibly can.”
Verstappen leads Perez by 151 points at the top of the championship standings and is virtually assured of this year’s title. Perez said his team mate’s achievements deserve respect.
“We’ve got to appreciate what Max has achieved this year,” said Perez. “He’s driving at a very high level from FP1 all the way through to the race.
“He’s just put in some sort of performances that are incredible. The way he’s approaching every single weekend is very impressive and I think we’ve got to give him the credit for what he has achieved.”
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