Sergio Perez doesn’t believe he and Red Bull made a mistake by staying on medium tyres despite missing out on Q3 in 11th for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Mexican, making his debut for the Anglo-Austrian squad this weekend, had his first run compromised after losing his first lap time to track limits.
But rather than taking the safer, if less optimal race option of the soft tyres for his final run, Perez continued on the middle of the three Pirelli compounds, ultimately finishing just 0.035s shy of the P10 time.
“I wasn’t expecting to qualify in 11th and obviously it’s not an ideal start,” Checo acknowledged post-session.
“We are making progress and I made a good step between FP3 and qualifying, but it just wasn’t enough.
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“We were absolutely right to use the medium tyres in Q2 but unfortunately it just didn’t pay off and I didn’t deliver the lap I should have.
“I went wide at Turn 13 and lost a couple of tenths and the field is so tight that it knocked me out of Q3.
“It’s a shame as the extra kilometres and comparison to Max would have helped me to progress, but tomorrow is a new day and anything can happen around this track, so hopefully, we can make a good recovery.”
Perez certainly knows he has a strong car around the Sakhir circuit, where he won just a few months ago for Racing Point, after teammate Max Verstappen stormed to the first pole of 2021.
“Congratulations to Max and the team on pole position as that’s the perfect way to start the season,” he added.
As for Red Bull boss Christian Horner, he is confident his new driver can rebound, noting how every lap is important at this stage.
“It was nip and tuck in Q2,” he said. “Sergio was unfortunate to just miss out on making it through to Q3.
“He’s only had a day and a half of testing and everything is very new for him in terms of how the car feels, but he will be competitive in the race tomorrow and should not be counted out.”