Perez 'very pissed off' by botched lap and front row miss

©RedBull

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Sergio Perez felt thoroughly "pissed off" after Saturday's qualifying in Baku, the Red Bull driver ruing a mistake in Q3 that likely deprived him of a spot on the front row of Sunday's grid.

Perez's form in free practice foretold a strong performance in qualifying. But an error on his first run in the top-ten shootout while running behind McLaren's Lando Norris left him in seventh position and 0.699s down on pacesetter Charles Leclerc.

Unfortunately, like for his teammate Max Verstappen, the Mexican's second run was spoilt by a red flag triggered in the closing minutes of the session by Yuki Tsunoda's crash at turn 15.

"It was a big disappointment today," lamented Perez.

"I was on a great lap, into Turn 4, I was about two-tenths up on my time, and I locked up. I think I was a little bit too close to Lando, and the wind picked up. I locked up, I lost the lap.

"I was pretty confident of getting a good lap time out of it. We’ve been strong all weekend. In Q3, really when it mattered, it was a disaster."

©RedBull

Perez was convinced that a spot on the front row was on the cards. But the Red Bull remains confident of achieving a good result in Sunday's race.

"I’m very, very pissed off today given that we should definitely be in the top two, on the front row, at very least," he said.

"But there are a lot of positives. I think we should be able to have a strong race pace as well."

2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Perez was none too pleased with drivers jockeying for position in Q3 on their out laps as everyone sought to benefit from a tow, creating congestion on the track and destroying the timing of his run.

"With the out laps, the track is so big, but because we all want to be together, it’s a disaster, starting that lap," he commented.

"Actually in terms of track position, Q3 was the worst that I had all weekend.

"We all went at the same time, and people created gaps, but then other people overtaking, not respecting the gentleman’s agreement. It just made things a bit harder.

"We didn’t put the lap when it really counted today. As simple as that."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.