F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Perez: Qualifying in Qatar undermined by bad tyre preparation

Red Bull and Sergio Perez lost out big time in Saturday's qualifying session in Qatar, with the Mexican blaming bad tyre preparation for his failure to reach the all-important final shootout.

Despite running on the soft tyre, Perez clocked in 11th at the end of Q2, excluding himself from Q3 and from a potential position towards the front of the grid from where he would have been able to support the efforts of his teammate Max Verstappen at the start of Sunday's race.

Perez blamed the shortfall on traffic on his out laps that undermined his tyre preparation.

"We got it wrong with our tyre prep, come qualie," rued the Red Bull charger. "We weren't able to have clean out laps most of the time and that meant that going into sector one I was pretty low with the tyres and the grip.

"I think we had the pace to do much better than what were able to do, I think we had everything in hand to make a strong qualifying.

"We were quick all weekend, we were quick in FP3 but unfortunately we just didn't put it together when it mattered."

Perez's lowly starting position means that the Mexican will have his work cut out for him and will likely not be of much support to Verstappen up front.

But the man famous for his signature drives through the field isn't giving up all hope of carving his way through the traffic and contributing to his team's much needed point tally.

"There's a long way to go, there's a lot that can still happen in the race," he said. "We will give it our best and hopefully we will get a lot of points."

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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.

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