"We managed to survive" - Sergio Perez claims 'it was not an ideal qualifying' after taking P2 at 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying

Sergio Perez thanked his lucky stars for being able to get through qualifying for the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP in one piece after having more than one scrape with the barriers around the Baku Street Circuit.

Coming off a memorable win at the 2022 F1 Monaco GP, Perez was driving with fire in his belly, determined to claim his second pole of the season.

The Mexican, however, was denied the chance to get out on track in time to make the most of a slipstream provided by his teammate Max Verstappen, owing to an issue with the engine in Perez's Red Bull RB18.

Despite the difficulties, Perez managed to lock out the front row behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc before recounting his good fortune in an interview in parc fermé with former F1 driver-turned-analyst Johnny Herbert. The 32-year-old said:

“When it got to Q3, it’s when you go full out. I hit the wall a couple of times but luckily we managed to survive, which is the key really here. It was not an ideal qualifying because at the end we had a problem with the engine and we couldn’t turn it on. So, I was basically on my own and that’s very powerful around here.”

Perez went on to add, saying:

“Who knows if it would have been enough for pole, but certainly we lost a few tenths but I think Charles [Leclerc] had a very good lap. Tomorrow it’s a very long race, we just have to make sure that we’re there. At any point you can make a mistake, so that’s it.”

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Sergio Perez 'is a candidate for the World Championship', as per former F1 driver Marc Surer

Sergio Perez has what it takes to be considered a serious candidate for the 2022 F1 World Championship despite not being the top man at Red Bull, according to former F1 driver Marc Surer.

Surer is a Swiss driver who raced in F1 between 1979 and 1986 and scored 17 points over the course of his career. The 70-year-old made the comments following Perez's win at the Principality, where he said:

“If he continues like this and scores points regularly, it’s absolutely possible. [But] if you add up the wins now, it’s quite clear Max [Verstappen] is still number one. [Sergio Perez] scores nicely and that can make a big difference at the end of the year. At the end of the day, it’s the ‘strike results’ that are the problem when you don’t finish and you lose 25 points or 18 points. So yes, Perez is a candidate for the World Championship.”

Perez only has one DNF to his name this season, at the season opener in Bahrain. The Mexican driver has not finished below fourth in the six rounds since.

Heading into race day in Baku, Perez is third in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 110 points.