BARCELONA: A disappointed Sergio Perez said he was still aiming for a podium finish in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix despite another major setback in qualifying on Saturday.
A week after crashing out of qualifying session one in his Red Bull car at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Mexican went off again and after returning to the track qualified 11th, a distance away from team-mate Max Verstappen who claimed his 24th pole and his first in Spain.
“It hasn’t been a straightforward weekend,“ said Perez. “The conditions have been tricky and I wasn’t comfortable in qualifying. I’ve been trying to modify my style and as soon as we had variable conditions it put me on the back foot.
“I couldn’t get the full potential from the car and going into Turn Five, the track was a little bit damp and I lost the rear end and went into the gravel.
“We lost a bit of time which was costly for us but I think anything is possible tomorrow so I will try to recover the position and to make progress.
“I am looking forward to the race and I think we should be able to get some good points and hopefully be on the podium.”
Perez is second in the drivers' championship, 39 points adrift of team-mate double world champion Max Verstappen. -AFP
