The Mexican driver, Sergio Pérez, was eliminated in the second qualifying round of the 2022 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix after Red Bull decided to call him into the pits in the final moments of Q2, while other drivers remained on the asphalt improving timing.
The rider from Guadalajara will start this Sunday from the sixth row, in 11th position, after Checo stayed in the garage watching other riders improve and leave him out.
However, the Red Bull driver did not find the rhythm since Q1, a round in which he finished 13th, 0.744 seconds off the best time in that same cut, the work of Lewis Hamilton.
In his key lap of Q2, Pérez complained about a blockage of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, which affected his performance and his lap time notably.
Arriving at the media area, the #11 explained what happened before the microphones of FOX Sports Mexico : “I ran into Magnussen in turn 2, I had to get deep inside and I lost time.”
The situation at the end of the day on Saturday reflected Pérez ‘s discomfort in Hungary since Friday’s free practice: “It’s been a complicated weekend so far.”
Starting from 11th place, Checo is aware of how difficult it is to overtake at the Hungaroring, so his expectations do not point to the podium: “Tomorrow we will try, it is a long race, without a doubt overtaking here is difficult, so we will try to add some points”.
Regarding his incident with the lap that the stewards took from him before he was eliminated in Q2 and that was later returned to him, the Mexican driver believes that without that event “nothing would have changed” in terms of his result in qualifying.
Referring to Red Bull ‘s decision not to take him out on the track in the final minutes of that second qualifying round, Pérez acknowledged that the possibility of running on new soft tires was on the table: “Yes, I think so.”
At the moment, Checo Pérez is in third position in the drivers’ championship, behind Max Verstappen, his teammate at Red Bull, and Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari.
