BBC F1 pundit Marc Priestley has slammed Sergio Perez for his ‘disappointing’ result in qualifying for the Australian GP after the Red Bull driver secured third on the grid.
The 34-year-old matched his best-ever qualifying result in Melbourne from 2022. Perez set a 1:16.274 personal best lap around the Albert Park circuit to get a spot on the second row of the Australian GP grid. But his time was 0.359 seconds off teammate Max Verstappen’s best.
Verstappen fended off Ferrari star Carlos Sainz to claim his third pole of the year through the opening three rounds. Red Bull will line up in first and third place when the lights go out this Sunday. Three-time champion Verstappen set a 1:15.915 time as the only driver in the 1:15s.
Sergio Perez was ‘disappointing’ in qualifying at the Australian GP
Perez has never started on the front row of an Australian GP grid after matching his previous best of third in 2022. The Mexican started behind Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Verstappen that year. But he came home in P2 to Leclerc after Verstappen had to retire with a fuel leak.
Yet former McLaren engineer Priestley has told BBC Radio 5 Live that P3 in 2024 is still not enough for Perez. He feels the Guadalajara native could have achieved more in qualifying on Saturday. Priestley felt Perez looked competitive on his final run right up until the last sector.
“That was disappointing from Sergio Perez,” he said. “Four-tenths off his teammate and the first part of the lap and the middle part of that lap looked really good. This is about finding out where you can push and where you can’t. As I said, the circuit is continuously evolving.”
Sergio Perez is losing 3-0 to Max Verstappen in qualifying at Red Bull
Only sealing third for the Australian GP ensured Perez is still yet to out-qualify Verstappen in the Red Bull garage this year. He started the term with P5 at the Bahrain GP as his 26-year-old teammate took pole. Verstappen also had pole at the Saudi Arabian GP with Perez in P3.
Like in Jeddah, a Ferrari split the Red Bulls with Leclerc in P2 but the Monegasque could not finish ahead of Perez. Now, Perez will hope to jump the other Ferrari of Sainz in Melbourne to, at least, finish second again. It would see the Mexican get a third consecutive P2 in 2024.
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