Sergio Perez was quick to criticise his own driving following the conclusion of Friday’s running at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Mexican having looked off the pace compared to team-mate Max Verstappen.
After driving exceptionally well on his way to victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend, many had expected Perez to enter the Miami International Autodrome this weekend full of confidence; however, he’s actually had a bit of a nightmare so far.
The 33-year-old found himself in P11 following Free Practice 1 and fourth following Free Practice 2; albeit, almost five-tenths behind Verstappen, who demonstrated exceptional pace.
Perez was behind both Ferrari drivers come the end of Friday and with significant work to do, if he wishes to leave Miami as the championship leader.
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He sits six points behind Verstappen ahead of Sunday’s race, meaning if things go in his favour, he could leapfrog the double World Champion.
For that to happen, though, Perez will need to find some pace during Free Practice 3 and especially in qualifying, with it currently looking unlikely that the Mexican will even start from the front row.
Performing well on normal circuits is all that is stopping Perez from being serious title contender, something which he seemingly recognises.
With that in mind, he openly admitted after FP2 that he hadn’t been “driving really well” in Miami and that he must get “a bit more comfortable”.
“I haven’t had the greatest of Fridays, and my lap was also pretty bad – I locked up on the final corner,” he explained.
“So there’s quite a bit more to come, and together with my driving, I’m not driving really well today.
“If I improve my driving, and get myself a bit more comfortable, I should be alright.
“It is these low grip conditions, especially with the things that we tried in FP1, but yeah, it is all small margins.
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“The grip especially in FP1 felt like inter conditions, or wet-to-inter conditions.
“We were trying a few things with the mechanical balance, and learned quite a bit in the long run.
“I don’t think we got a race [pace] because of the very few laps that we ended up doing out there, but we’ve got a good baseline.”