By Sergio Silva
19 Jul 2024, 17:54 PM EDT
The Mexican Sergio “Checo” Perez completed a good performance this Friday in the first free practice sessions ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend where the Red Bull driver managed to record the fourth best time in the second practice session.
Unlike the last few races of this season, the Guadalajara native managed to leave a good impression on the Hungaroring circuit, where this Sunday he will try to put an end to his streak of seven races without being able to get on the podium.
“It was a good Friday, we made a good step from FP1 to FP2, made the right changes and went in the right direction. It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt in the car at this stage of the weekend for a long time”“Checo” Pérez commented in statements collected by ESPN.
The Mexican, who in recent days has been the subject of rumours about his future with the energy drink team despite having recently renewed his contract for two years, was one of the drivers with the best pace during both sessions on Friday, finishing with a time of 1:23.3 in the second session.
Despite this notable improvement in his performance, the Guadalajara native aims to continue improving for this Saturday in qualifying as well as for Sunday when the Hungarian Grand Prix is held, round number 13 of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
“I think we can still improve the set-up now and at the end of the day it’s just about putting everything together at the right time. Our time will come, for now we’re just keeping our heads down and looking forward. Let’s see what the rest of the weekend brings.”he added.
Sergio “Checo” Pérez has not experienced a podium finish since mid-April, when he finished third in the Chinese Grand Prix. His fourth place in the following race, Miami, was the result prior to a debacle that included a couple of retirements in a row (Monaco and Canada) that have undermined his performance.
In the midst of this slump, the Mexican driver from the Austrian team has also seen how he has dropped drastically in the drivers’ classification due to the great performance of the rest of the drivers. From occupying second place, the Guadalajara native is now in sixth place.
A strong performance in Hungary would allow “Checo” Pérez to get back on track with good results and would also help him calm the waters that have been stirred by his performance with Red Bull, which has once again earned him serious questions about his future with the team.
Keep reading:
– Max Verstappen comes to Sergio “Checo” Pérez’s defense amid the Mexican’s bad moment: “We are both very focused”
– Sergio “Checo” Pérez denies that his contract with Red Bull has performance clauses that could keep him out of the Austrian team
– Helmut Marko, advisor to the Red Bull team, returns to the charge against Sergio “Checo” Pérez: “Mentally he is weak”