Perez demands ‘big change’ after Red Bull ‘surprise’

Sergio Perez has demanded that Red Bull makes a “big change”, in order for the team to be competitive in this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. 

The Mexican driver ended second practice in eighth on the timesheets but one-second off the benchmark time posted by Lando Norris. 

A positive for the 34-year-old, was that for the second consecutive weekend he demonstrated better pace than Max Verstappen. The Dutchman ended Friday in P15. 

Second practice was better for Perez, although Red Bull’s balance problem remains a sizeable setback.

“Yeah, I think we improved a little bit [in FP2], but still we are lacking quite a lot of balance,” said Perez. “It’s quite difficult out there to put a lap together. [It’s] not looking great at the moment.”

Singapore was Red Bull’s weakest Grand Prix in its dominant 2023 campaign, to the extent it was the only race not won last season by the Milton Keynes-based outfit. 

Despite its poor recent history at the Marina Bay Circuit and expectations having not been high ahead of this weekend, the team has been caught by surprise at just how far off the pace the RB20 is.

“No, I think it took us a surprise,” revealed Perez. “And yeah, definitely, we got some work to do overnight, because we are very far.”

Red Bull – not for the first time in recent races – now has a long night ahead to try and find a temporary solution to its problems. 

Perez pointed out after second practice that a very significant change is required for Red Bull to move closer to the front. 

“We are nearly a second off the pace, so we need quite a big change to be able to come through,” assessed Perez. “And yeah, we see what we are able to do.”