“We knew they were going to be very strong”: Red Bull's Sergio Perez expected improved pace from Ferrari after claiming P3 in Baku qualifying

F1 has returned after a month-long break and kicked off with an exciting qualifying session where Sergio Perez set the third-fastest lap time behind pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and team-mate Max Verstappen.

Perez was certainly not thrilled with the result given the superior pace of the team's 2023 challenger. He admitted that his lap was not very "clean" and emphasized that Red Bull expected quite a challenge from Ferrari this weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports in a post-qualifying media interaction, the Red Bull driver said:

"It started pretty tricky in Q1 with the amount of red flags and then sticking to the same set, just to get through without making mistakes without much practice it was pretty challenging."

"I am pretty disappointed to be sitting P3 because I thought there was more in it. My lap wasn't that clean. We knew coming here that the Ferrari was going to be the biggest threat to us and I think Charles has done a tremendous lap as well."

Tomorrow, the drivers will compete in the newly introduced format for the first sprint race of the 2023 season.

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"Australia wasn't great" - Sergio Perez looking forward to 2023 Azerbaijan GP

Red Bull were certainly underwhelmed by the P5 result that Sergio Perez took home earlier this month at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.

With this in mind, the Mexican hopes to redeem himself this weekend in Baku to maintain his strong position in the championship.

As reported by GPFans, Sergio Perez said:

"It feels like ages since we have been racing! It has been nice to have a break, to work hard in the gym and with my team at the factory."

"You must take advantage of these moments away from the track, especially when you see how busy the period is coming up."

"Australia wasn’t perfect for us, having the car and performance consistent is my aim this season."

He added:

"For two races we had that and now as a team, we must make sure that’s the standard we keep to for the remaining races of the season."

"We have five races in six weeks and after that, with the mix of circuits we are visiting, we are really going to see how good the RB19 can be this year."

Sergio Perez currently stands second in the drivers standings with a 15-point gap to championship leader Max Verstappen.