Damon Hill believes one ‘under pressure’ Formula 1 driver is visibly ‘not happy’ at the Spanish Grand Prix after a difficult day in practice for round 10 of the 2024 campaign.
Two Britons topped the timesheets at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday as Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton led the way. Norris led FP1 for McLaren after his 1:14.228 tour of the current home of the Spanish GP. Hamilton topped FP2 with Mercedes with his 1:13.264.
Formula 1 will take the Spanish GP away from Montmelo and move the race to Madrid from 2026. Hamilton will hope to build on his promising practice pace to add yet another Spanish GP win to his tally. Only the 39-year-old (5) plus Max Verstappen (3) have won it since 2015.
Damon Hill feels Sergio Perez is ‘under pressure’ despite his new Red Bull contract
But Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, was clearly ‘not happy’ after practice for the 2024 Spanish GP, claims Hill. The Sky Sports F1 pundit could see from the 34-year-old’s face this Friday that Perez was disappointed to only record the fifth-fastest lap in FP1 and 13th in FP2.
Perez ended FP1 0.464 seconds off the pace that Norris posted. Verstappen also ended the first practice session in P2, just 0.024s off the McLaren driver. The Mexican’s margin to P1 in FP2 also grew to 0.817s to Hamilton’s time with Verstappen managing P5 with a 0.240s gap.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
Red Bull might also worry about Perez’s pace after posting his fastest time in FP2 on the soft tyres later than his rivals. The Guadalajara native will also serve a three-place grid penalty in Barcelona. So, Hill believes Perez ‘has problems’ and was clearly unhappy at the Spanish GP.
“He’s under pressure,” Hill told Sky Sports F1 (21/6, 16:23). “I know he’s signed a new deal [through the 2026 season], so he should be happy. But he doesn’t want to be where he is.
“He has problems and now, even in an FP2 session, he’s not had a great run. He’s now going into [Saturday] not quite sure about the car. So, he’s not happy. You can tell just by his face.”
Sergio Perez will be desperate to improve his pace at the Spanish GP
Perez only improved the Red Bull driver’s 1:14.692 lap time in FP1 at the 2024 Spanish GP to 1:14.081 in FP2. But Verstappen slashed his 1:14.252 in FP1 to 1:13.504 come FP2, a margin of 0.748 seconds. Perez found 0.611 between the sessions and must find more on Saturday.
READ MORE: The most successful drivers at the F1 Spanish GP of all time and in Barcelona
Red Bull will see Perez start the Spanish GP three places worse off than he qualifies due to a grid penalty from the Canadian GP. The team from Milton Keynes urged the Mexican against stopping on the circuit despite his rear wing falling apart after the crash that ended his race.
For the second time in as many rounds, Perez crashed out of the Canadian GP after spinning at Turn 6. It was a mistake all of his own doing and followed crashing with Kevin Magnussen in the Monaco GP. The Red Bull ace left the Haas star no space after seeing him in his mirror.
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