Verstappen posted a 1min10.727s flying lap to beat Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc to pole position at Interlagos in a shootout that was red-flagged owing to a thunderstorm hitting the monitor.
Whereas Q3 was virtually solely dry till the stoppage with 4 minutes to run, Verstappen reckoned changing wind conditions created “terrible” laps as grip ranges disappeared.
McLaren racer Oscar Piastri was caught out by the new-found instability as he misplaced the rear finish of his McLaren MCL60 into the ultimate nook. The Australian rookie had been a reputable pole contender after setting one of the best first sector of anybody.
However as he ran over the grass to set off yellow flags, the closing Perez was pressured to again off from his ultimate flying lap, which he reckons would have put him on the entrance row alongside his team-mate.
Perez mentioned: “We have been simply extremely unfortunate immediately. I ought to have been on the entrance row.
“My lap was very near Max’s till the final nook, and I discovered Piastri so I needed to again off my lap.
“It meant that I used to be simply position-nowhere. It’s extremely unlucky as a result of I felt like we had loads higher.”
Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Sergio Perez, Pink Bull Racing RB19
Perez’s F1 future is the topic of main hypothesis as he endures a protracted run of poor kind.
He’s solely 20 factors forward of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton within the battle to complete runner-up within the championship and has not completed second to his team-mate in a aggressive session for the reason that Italian GP in early September.
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In Brazil, Perez in the end categorised ninth forward solely of McLaren racer Piastri, who didn’t set a time in Q3 owing to his grassy tour.
Verstappen’s first (18.359s) and second (35.659s) sector occasions mixed for 54.018s. Perez’s pair of uninterrupted sectors (18.4611s; 35.835s) added to 54.296s to go away him 0.278s adrift of Verstappen.
That meant he would have theoretically crushed Leclerc (0.294s off) to second place on the grid.
Requested about his prospects of recovering over the remainder of the dash race weekend at Interlagos, Perez mentioned: “I feel there are some good factors and alternatives to race from right here.”