Sergio Perez sheds light on Austin qualifying and reveals he didn’t have same upgrades as Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen raced at the Austin GP with different upgrades.

Sergio Perez explains the gap to his teammate during the Austin GP qualifying: “I don’t have the same upgrades as Verstappen.”

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen raced in the United States Grand Prix at the Austin circuit with different upgrades. This is what emerges from the Mexican driver’s comments, justifying the gap between him and his teammate. While the reigning World Champion put the RB20 on the front row, Sergio Perez had to settle for tenth (and last) place in the third session.

Once again, a disappointing qualifying session for Sergio Perez compared to Max Verstappen’s stellar performance. The Mexican driver couldn’t find the lap in the third session and will start from the tenth spot on the grid. The performance gap between the two is significant, but for this round of the Championship, there seems to be an explanation in the differences between their cars.

Red Bull brought an updated package to Austin, but it was only installed on Max Verstappen’s car. Given his position in the Drivers’ Championship, the Dutchman was rightly prioritized over his teammate, who is racing with an older specification. This was confirmed by Sergio Perez himself in an interview with DAZN.

“We made a lot of changes to the car that will undoubtedly be helpful in the race,” the Mexican explained. “And no, I don’t have the same upgrades as Max. We can see it in the high-speed corners, and there are many of those here. But in the end, the car is working well. I think we’ve made progress, and with the changes we’ve made, everything feels more positive.” – he added.

Will this difference in the two cars’ specifications be enough to justify Sergio Perez’s gap in front of Red Bull management? Meanwhile, Honda is also starting to put pressure on Milton Keynes, with Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls increasingly eager for a chance with the main team.