Sergio Perez is looking to bounce back in Qatar after a tough weekend in Las Vegas where he barely scraped together a single championship point.
The Red Bull driver’s struggles in qualifying continued last weekend, getting knocked out in the first session. It’s a pattern he’s desperate to break.
“Las Vegas was positive because we had the speed in the race,” Perez said. “We just need to get qualifying right and put the car where it needs to be from the start.”
This weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix throws up some unique challenges. It’s a sprint weekend, which means two separate qualifying sessions and less practice time to get things right.
The pressure’s really on for Perez. He’s spent time at Red Bull’s factory this week, working with his team to find solutions.
“Qatar’s totally different from Vegas,” he explained. “Different surface, different temperatures – it’ll be interesting to see how the car handles it all.”
The sprint format doesn’t make things any easier. Teams get less track time to collect data and fine-tune their setups.
But Perez isn’t leaving anything to chance. “I’ve been working hard with my team to make sure we’re as prepared as possible when we hit the track on Friday.”
With just two races left in the season, every point counts. A strong showing in Qatar could help silence some of his critics and build momentum heading into the finale.
