Sergio Perez has acknowledged that a rise in temperature disrupted the stability of his Red Bull Formula 1 car, preventing him from challenging for the victory in Japan. Perez qualified just 0.07 seconds behind polesitter Max Verstappen at the Suzuka circuit, securing a Red Bull front row lockout for the first time since his last achievement in Miami almost a year ago. However, during the race, the Mexican driver was unable to mount a challenge against his teammate as Verstappen pulled away, finishing 12.8 seconds ahead to secure his third win out of four races in 2024. Perez’s chances were further hampered when he fell behind Lando Norris in the second stint and had to overtake both Norris and Charles Leclerc, who was on a one-stop strategy. Perez revealed that he had already been struggling with the handling of his RB20 due to the increase in track temperature, which reached 40 degrees during the race. Despite these setbacks, Perez felt that the situation improved in the second and third stints of the race.
Perez maintained his second position in the early stages of the race, trailing Verstappen by just one second when he encountered a challenging moment at the second Degner corner.
“It was quite a difficult turn. Many drivers struggled there today,” he explained.
“I went over the curb and hoped to avoid any damage because these floors are easily affected. As far as I know, we didn’t suffer any.
“I understeered wide and went over the curb. Once you’re on top of it, it’s game over. You just have to let the car roll over it because it’s better to be over than on top.
“I ended up with a lot of dirt on my tires, which took a lap or two to clean off. I lost a couple of seconds because of that.”
After his pit stop, Perez found himself behind the Mercedes cars and made daring moves on the inside of the high-speed left-handed 130R corner to overtake both drivers.
“Yeah, it happened at the same time,” he explained. “Being stuck behind one of the slowest cars, considering their tire degradation, was quite penalizing.
“So I decided to go for it. And it happened at the 130R corner both times.”
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admitted that he watched those moments with concern, but Perez denied feeling anxious about potential contact.
“No, it’s enjoyable,” Perez responded when asked if the moves were nerve-wracking. “It’s fun to race with two cars around there.”
Red Bull has solidified its lead in both championships with a third 1-2 finish in four races, bouncing back from a disappointing weekend in Australia.
Looking ahead to the next round, Perez believes that the similarities between Suzuka and the Shanghai International Circuit will work in Red Bull’s favor.
“It’s a somewhat similar track, I would say, with a combination of high-speed and medium-speed sections,” Perez said about China’s return to the F1 calendar after a hiatus since 2019.
“If we can be fast here, we can be fast in many other races. So it should be a good track for us as well.”