"I hope we are able to fix the technical issue for tomorrow": Sergio Perez reflects on a 'disappointing' qualifying session

Sergio Perez recently shared his thoughts after a horribly unfortunate qualifying session in the 2023 F1 Australian GP. The Mexican will be starting dead last in the main race as he locked up his front tire at turn three and went into the gravel trap during the Q1 session.

Speaking to the media after the incident, a disappointed Sergio Perez expressed how he needs to look ahead and try to fix the technical issue that resulted in his car having problems during the qualifying session, as he stated:

"It’s really hard to digest this one. To end qualifying on the second braking zone is really disappointing. But nothing I can do now. I have to look forward. I hope we are able to fix the technical issue for tomorrow; otherwise, it will be really hard to race like this."

While the issue mentioned by Sergio Perez wasn't revealed, he simply explained how his car had this particular problem in the morning. Unfortunately, although the Red Bull team thought that they had fixed the issue, it crept up during qualifying and ruined the session for Checo. He further explained:

"We have a bit of an understanding. We are confident that, together as a team, we will be able to sort it out because it’s very important that we do so. This morning, we had the issue. We thought we had fixed it. But this morning, I was just going all around. I was riding more on the grass than on the track but we thought we had fixed it. So, I was pretty confident on that part, but that wasn’t the case as soon as I touched the brake in Turn 3."

Sergio Perez hopes that Red Bull fixes this issue before the main race. If not, it will be extremely tough for him to plow through the field and end up in a good position.

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Sergio Perez is confident that he can beat Max Verstappen

Coming to the 2023 F1 Australian GP, Sergio Perez is confident that he can beat his teammate and reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. He stated that he feels completely comfortable at Red Bull and believes that his side of the garage will help him get close enough to Verstappen for a commendable fight. Motorsports quoted him as saying:

"I am completely convinced that I have what it takes to beat Max. When I arrived at Red Bull, things were different. Basically, they ran with 2 single-seaters because they were forced to. And I can say instead that now I feel completely part of the team. I really feel in a team where there's a place for me and I'm well respected."

While Sergio Perez could certainly put up a fight against Verstappen in the 2023 F1 season, it's safe to say he won't be able to do so in the upcoming Australian GP. For now, the Mexican will have to drive through the entire field in the main race and finish as high as possible.