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Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has claimed that there “is a little bit of confusion” at Red Bull about where their pace has gone but stated that they know “where the problem is “.
Red Bull’s dominance is slipping away
Last time out at the Italian Grand Prix, Perez finished eighth, while teammate Max Verstappen managed to make it up to sixth.
The pair’s combined 12 points were worsened by the fact that Constructors’ Championship rivals McLaren finished second and third, gaining 22 points on the Milton Keynes-based team.
The Mexican driver has yet to win this season but has taken home four podiums, all of which came in the opening five races. Meanwhile, his Dutch Red Bull partner hasn’t won a race since June at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The six-time race winner blamed high tyre degradation for the lack of pace at Monza but claimed it was worse than he expected.
As reported by F1, Perez said:
“[I’m] really disappointed,“ he admitted afterwards. “I was expecting it to be difficult but not this bad. We basically were slow and had high deg [degradation], especially on the medium.
“I compromised my race a little bit I think to keep George [Russell] behind, but that worked quite well for us because we were able to hold George behind for a little bit and in the end he came really close to Max, so I think it made a difference to the team in terms of points we secured today.”
The ex-McLaren man went on to explain how the issues he has been facing for most of the season are similar to what his teammate has begun to feel.
“I really feel like I’m in the same boat as I’ve been in for the last eight, 10 races,“ added Perez. “But now all of a sudden Max has come into similar issues so yeah, a little bit of a confusion there but it is clear in the data where the problem is.“
Perez ‘confident’ of a return to the top
Red Bull has won the Constructors’ Championship for the last two years and has taken the Drivers’ Championship with Verstappen for the last three.
However, their unstoppable reign seems to be approaching its end as McLaren sits just eight points behind them.
If McLaren can take the constructors’ title, it will be the first time they have done so since 1998.
Perez believes the six-time team champions can still “get back on track”.
“I am very confident the team here at track and back at home have the solution,“ Perez claimed. “We have produced great cars in the past and there is no reason why we cannot get back on track.
“We have no questions now, we know the problem. Given it is all related to balance, if we can find a fix then we can switch it around but for now, it’s head down until we find the answer.“
Featured image: Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images