Perez penalized for being 'too close' to Tsunoda on final Q3 run

Sergio Perez's fans amassed around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez expressed a collective gasp at the sight of their favourite driver running off the track in Q3 and shattering their dreams of a home pole.

Perez was running just ahead of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen on the pair's final run in the qualifying shootout when the Mexican came across the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda venturing off course at Turn 10, which in turn caused Perez to also run off the track.

While Verstappen more or less salvaged his flyer to clock in third, Perez's was forced to fall back on his second best effort in Q3 that was good enough for P4.

"Yes it was a pretty difficult one," a disappointed Perez admitted. "Trying to manage traffic, trying to get a rhythm, the balance.

"I think my car was never the same since FP3 to qualifying. We had to do a couple of adjustments and once we got on top of it, all of a sudden, I find Yuki into Turn 11 and I lost a lot of downforce already into [Turns] 8, 9, and that hurt a bit."

Perez reckoned that he was running too close to Tsunoda to start with on his final lap, in the Japanese driver's dirty air.

"The distraction was [down to] the fact that I was too close to him on braking," he said.

"Once I [braked] there was no downforce and I just lost it. I think P3 was possible, but the Mercedes were too quick today."

Red Bull had kicked off its Saturday afternoon session in a bit of a frantic mode, with its crews pouring over the rear wings of both RB16Bs. Perez felt the changes impacted the balance of his car.

"Yes, we had to change the rear wing and the car was never the same, to be honest," he said.

"I don’t know how to explain it, but I think we will have a proper look to see if we are able to get on top of it and try to improve it for tomorrow’s race,” he said.

"I think it’s something for the team to have a look at. It’s something that we will discuss and but yes, for some reason the car was never the same going into qualifying."

• Read also - Verstappen: Final Q3 lap good for pole before Tsunoda spoil

Undeterred, the Mexican crowd voiced its support for its favourite son after qualifying despite the underperformance. And Perez is determined to give it his all on Sunday.

"Tomorrow is a pretty long race," he said. "I think we are a bit disappointed because we looked so strong in practice, we were really strong.

"But Mercedes, when they turn things on, they seem to be really quick.

"I will give it a go. I’d rather finish on the podium than not finish, so I will give my maximum tomorrow."

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