Once again, the outcome was different for the two Red Bull Racing drivers. While Max Verstappen managed to beat Lando Norris to claim pole position for Saturday’s Sprint, Sergio Perez finished seventh.
After the session, the Mexican blamed Esteban Ocon for his performance.
1.3 seconds is the gap between “Checo” Perez and his teammate, Max Verstappen, in SQ3 at the Austrian Grand Prix. Friday’s final session was chaotic, with drivers waiting until the last minute to complete their laps. This meant that some of the exit laps were not ideal.
“I think we were in the mix today. Unfortunately I don’t know what Esteban was doing on track, he apparently had to drive very slowly and I did my last lap half a second behind him, and there was practically no chance of doing well, hence this gap which is not representative of my performance that I had against Max during the other sessions.”
However, Perez was more optimistic about the Sprint.
“I’m confident that tomorrow will be a better day. It was out of our control today. We didn’t finish where we needed to be and I’m confident that tomorrow will be a better day.”
The Mexican was once again consistently behind the Dutchman in SQ1 and SQ2. Although only the progression is important, Perez first finished 0.566 seconds and then 0.426 seconds behind the reigning champion, a gap that has been consistent so far in Austria.
