Perez had considered one of his finest qualifying periods of current months relative to team-mate Max Verstappen, ending Q3 simply 0.160s behind the world champion as the pair lined up third and fifth.
Nonetheless the 2 Crimson Bulls had been cut up by the AlphaTauri of Ricciardo, who was fast all through qualifying, taking fourth, fifth and fourth throughout the three periods.
It was the primary time since he returned to the grid this yr that Ricciardo had genuinely signalled that he could ultimately replace Perez, however the present incumbent downplayed the suggestion.
“Daniel did an amazing lap,” he mentioned. “I do not assume it is simply Daniel who needs my seat.
“As an example there are quite a lot of different drivers who need to be in that seat. And it is nice. If it is what they deserve, then I am glad for them.”
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Daniel Ricciardo, Scuderia AlphaTauri
Perez conceded he hadn’t anticipated the AlphaTauri to be so aggressive in Mexico.
“Yeah, and never the Ferrari as effectively,” he mentioned, referencing the Maranello crew’s sudden front-row lockout.
“However it’s what it’s. I feel our development in Q3 wasn’t nice, we ended up dropping a set [of soft tyres] that probably we did not have to.
“You solely know that after qualifying, and I feel that basically damage us, the development we had in Q3.
“When you find yourself speaking a few tenth and a half to two-tenths, it will have modified our life utterly. So it’s what it’s.”
He added: “Particularly throughout qualifying it ramped up a bit, the temperature, which did change, as I say, 3-4 levels of monitor temp.
“In another place you do not really feel that, however in Mexico, it modifications the stability rather a lot, since you are a lot on the sting, and at all times sliding round.”
Perez mentioned that he made progress over the US GP weekend, and that has continued at his dwelling occasion.
“We already made the progress in Austin,” he mentioned. “We’re making progress right here. So yeah, I feel we’re on stage with the automobile.
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Sergio Perez, Crimson Bull Racing RB19
“Clearly, this monitor is actually troublesome, each single set of tyres that I had at this time carried out in another way. So it’s a monitor that’s actually troublesome to get essentially the most out of it.”
Increasing on his type he mentioned: “I do not need to go an excessive amount of intimately. However actually, I am going to say that we bought misplaced a couple of weekends with the set-up.
“We took a reset. I feel for us it is trying higher now, we’re beginning the set-ups lots nearer, and it was diverging by means of the weekends on issues that we need to obtain in another way.”