Perez blames stewards for making late decision that might have cost him a better spot on the grid

Having delivered an improved performance compared to the previous rounds, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has blamed that stewards for reacting late in Q1 which forced him to use a second set of fresh soft tyres.

In the face of a string of tough qualifying sessions, Sergio Perez has finally delivered a more impressive performance at Abu Dhabi, comfortably making it out of Q1. While he was on the brink of getting eliminated in the second qualifying segment, he ultimately made it through to fight for the top places in the Q3.

However, the Mexican was only able to secure P10 on the grid for the season finale, but it is still a step forward compared to previous rounds.

Following the one-hour session, the Mexican insisted that he might have been able to qualify himself higher up the grid had he not been forced to use a second set of soft tyres after stewards first deleted his first timed lap and then reinstated it later on.

“I think going into Q3 with a single new set of tyres cost us. We lost a set in Q1 when they took my first lap away and then told us too late it was reinstated, when I was already out on a new tyre.

“It was unfortunate and compromised that session. Over one lap we have been suffering and once again, we had this really disconnected balance, which is an issue we have been suffering with for some time.

Reflecting on his car’s performance, Perez has revealed that the team has been struggling with the balance of its RB20 as changes to the setup improved the car’s balance in certain corners, but made it difficult to control in other turns.

“It we want to get more front end, we seem to lose from the rear and we are always chasing that balance a bit too much. Qualifying has been the trickiest part of my season and it didn’t get any better today.

“The main focus is to have a strong race tomorrow and I think we can race from where we are starting. We have good race pace but it is going to be hard on the rears for sure, the degradation is likely to be bad, so it will be an interesting one.”