‘It won’t break me down’ - How Perez plans to turnaround F1 troubles
The Mexican has scored the same amount of points as Williams’ George Russell since the Hungarian Grand Prix, the race prior to which his Red Bull stay for 2022 was confirmed.
Although his retirement at Hungary was no fault of his own, it was followed by a costly crash on the reconnaissance laps to the grid in wet conditions in Belgium, marking a third consecutive event out of the points.
Perez bounced back with strong races in the Netherlands and Italy and appeared on course to claim just his third podium since joining Red Bull in Russia until late rain turned the race on its head.
“It’s how the business is,” Perez said of his recent troubles on Saturday after a disappointing qualifying at Sochi.
“I’ve been here long enough and it won’t break me down, I will just keep pushing and it will turn around.”
But Perez remains confident of an upswing in form across the remaining seven races of the season to end his first campaign with Red Bull on a positive note.
Asked if he is looking forward for the season to end so he can concentrate on a reset for 2022, Perez replied: “No, not at all.
"There is still a long way to go. I have been in this position before and I will turn things around, I have no doubts.
"Every weekend it can turn around so I am looking forward to the rest of the year and we are in a big battle in the constructors' and it can flip any way any weekend.”
While Perez’s performances on race day have been strong all year, qualifying remains his Achilles' heel, especially compared to teammate Max Verstappen, who has notched up eight poles in 15 races.
Perez believes improvement can be found by simply “putting things together” when it matters most on a Saturday.
"I think the pace has improved quite a bit in the last few weekends,” he explained. "We just have to make sure we get the final bit together to be able to transform the results.
"We have done it before and I am sure we can do this again. I fully believe in the team, and [there is] still a long way to go.”
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