Sergio Pérez believes he would have been a contender for victory at the Miami Grand Prix had he not encountered a sensor issue that caused a loss of power. Starting fourth on the starting grid, the Mexican reached the finish at the foot of the podium but had higher ambitions. chasing behind Carlos Sainz during the first part of the race, the Red Bull driver suffered a technical problem while closing the gap. Reporting a loss of power to his engineer, he then managed to handle the situation with the help of his team.
At the end of the race, when the safety car intervened following the accident between Lando Norris et Pierre Gasly, Red Bull Racing took the opportunity to fit new medium tires on Sergio Pérez’s RB18. Despite this tire advantage at the restart, he never managed to gain the upper hand over Carlos Sainz during the last 11 laps of the race, despite a maneuver that started from afar at the first corner.
“I was in a great situation”he explains. “Unfortunately even with the DRS I mightn’t get close to Carlos, the straight line deficit was quite high. I was pushing very hard to stay close to him in the corners. My tires were overheating. So as soon as I “I had a small opportunity, I took it. It was too dirty off the line. After that, I mightn’t get closer. The straight-line deficit was too big.”
Asked regarding his chances of victory if his engine had retained its full potential, Sergio Pérez is categorical: “With a normal engine, I would have had a chance”. Because despite a situation under control, the Mexican says he never regained all the capacities of his engine, assuring that he was “regarding 10 km/h slower on the straights”.
After the Grand Prix, Christian Horner was the first to admit that his driver had been “really unlucky”because the power deficit was estimated at “environ 30 ch” par Red Bull. “He really gave his best when we pitted him to give him the tire advantage”adds the director of Red Bull. “Without this problem, he might even have finished second.”
Sergio Pérez’s problems add to the list of reliability issues that Red Bull has suffered since the start of the season. “We have to keep working hard because each time we discover different problems”warns the Mexican. “Luckily we managed to finish the race. I think at one point it was very close to being finished. So yes, to have been able to finish the race is good.
