Perché la situazione con Sergio Perez è diventata così tesa?

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Hard to believe, but true: Red Bull has secured the front row in qualifying for the Formula 1 race in Japan 2024. This fact may not be a surprise for the avid Formula 1 fan, but what is surprising is the fact that it is the first Red Bull double pole since the season opener in 2023.

This is mainly due to Sergio Perez being remarkably close to his teammate Max Verstappen this time. The Dutchman is familiar with the feeling of pole position, as this was his fifth in a row, but Perez was only 0.066 seconds slower and secured the front row for his team.

For Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, Perez was “better than expected”, as he still recalls the horror weekend from the previous year when the Mexican driver strangely retired twice. “He has improved incredibly,” praises Marko on ORF.

“1-2, it’s been a long time. Especially Perez on the front row, that is something I have to think back on for a long time,” says the Austrian.

Indeed, the last time Perez was on the front row was in the sprint at Spielberg last summer. The last time in a Grand Prix was even in Miami – last May.

Perez was able to improve by nearly three and a half tenths in his last Q3 lap in Suzuka – Verstappen, on the other hand, only by 0.043 seconds compared to his previous run, which was already enough for pole position.

However, the Dutch driver lost time in the second run, especially in the final sector, where he was slower than before. “I lost time after turn 13,” he explains. “The tires are very sensitive here. As soon as you push too hard in Sector 1, you run out of tires at the end. That’s what happened to me in my last lap. That’s why I didn’t really improve.”

According to the champion, the front tires gave up after the final chicane, “and I didn’t hit the curb as I should have. That was not ideal,” he said.

“But it was still good enough. I always want it to be perfect, but that’s not possible. Fortunately, it was still good enough.”

Because his sector time of 17.570 seconds was still faster than his teammate Perez’s (17.654), who was even ahead of Verstappen virtually after two sectors.

Perez also agrees with his teammate’s statements: “Everything was at the limit. It was easy to lose one or two tenths by pushing too hard,” he said. “The amount of energy we put into the tires here is extremely high. It was therefore very difficult to get the perfect lap.”

Nevertheless, he can be satisfied with second place in the end. “The whole weekend was good,” nods Perez, who ended a bad phase – and above all corrected the events from the previous year.

“Especially last year was the worst race for Sergio. Everything went wrong, so I believe it’s a special satisfaction for him,” says Marko to Sky. “You can see, he can do it.”

But the Austrian also hints that it is still about a contract for the next year for Perez. “And that seems to be very motivating too,” he said.

An important factor in the upswing is also a different approach to setting up the car. “He no longer tries to go his own technical way,” reveals Marko. “The cars are almost identical in setup, and that ultimately makes the difference.”

Perez himself confirms this view, saying that in the past, he “played around with the car too much”. Now, however, he has a base that he is much happier with.

“When we were here last year, we were in a phase where nothing was working. And when that happens, you’re just spinning in circles. And by the end of the year, we found out that it’s better to take a step back and not chase the setup too much,” he said. “Then you start making compromises in other areas.”

“Now I feel much more comfortable and happier. The confidence is slowly coming back.”

Red Bull has also brought a new upgrade package to Suzuka, which includes redesigned air intakes in the side pods and a new floor. “I believe our upgrade worked very, very well,” says Marko, attributing that to the successful qualifying. “Our fine-tuning was also good.”

It is difficult to assess how much the upgrade has really brought in the end. According to Perez, it should not play a major role in Suzuka because the benefits are supposed to show on other tracks.

Verstappen says: “It’s always difficult to say when you haven’t driven the previous package here. But normally it should be a step forward. We’ll take that, of course. We’re trying to understand it now and optimize it.”

For Sunday, Red Bull has already secured the best starting position, even though they were not entirely satisfied with the long runs on Friday and saw Charles Leclerc as the favorite. The Ferrari driver starts from eighth place and seems almost out of the running for victory.

“After our strongest competitor for the long runs, Leclerc, starts only from eighth place, I am also optimistic for the race,” says Marko.

Because the starting position plays a major role in Suzuka: Five of the last six races here have been won from pole position.