French GP: Sergio Perez pleased with performance pick up in qualifying

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was pleased with the lap he produced in Q3 to seal third in qualifying for the French Grand Prix.

The Mexican had looked a little bit off of the pace throughout each practice session in Circuit Paul Ricard but managed to string a fine lap together when it mattered, in qualifying, to ensure that only the men in front of him in the championship standings are in front of him on track at lights out; Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

The Mexican has seen his title hopes take a hit in recent weeks with two retirements in the last three races; at Canada and Austria respectively, but he is still in the fight and will look to try and make up some ground this afternoon in France.

Reflecting on qualifying itself, he said:

“To put in a decent lap in Q3 after a difficult start to this weekend is really good and I am pleased to be back in contention.

“We did some setup changes and managed to get in the rhythm of understanding the tyres which worked out well and hopefully puts us in a position to fight hard in the race. I think patience, a strong start and a good tyre strategy in the heat will be key to getting a good result. It’s also very important we work together to get the best outcome for the team.” 

Perez is very good at managing his tyres and that might come in handy this afternoon in the very warm conditions here in the south of France.

All of the drivers have been mentioning that looking after the rubber this weekend has proven a real challenge, and so Perez will do his best to try and use his abilities to his advantage.