Sergio Perez‘s form on street circuits has all come down to his race pace, the Mexican has admitted prior to the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
The 33-year-old came to within six points of Max Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ championship after taking both the grand prix victory and the sprint race win at Baku.
F1 head to another temporary track for the fifth round of the championship at the Miami International Autodrome where he could overtake his Red Bull teammate for the lead of the championship.
“On the street circuits, you have to be very strong in the race, very strong with pressure and you have to be able to handle the pressure,” Perez told the media ahead of the Miami GP.
“You are not able to make mistakes because if you do one small mistake you can’t get away with it.
“I think I probably have more confidence than others come race day. The way I won in Baku, on pure pace, it doesn’t matter if it’s a street circuit or a permanent circuit I can do that anywhere.”
Split in the Red Bull F1 team?
Verstappen was not hugely pleased in Azerbaijan after Perez was able to leapfrog him due to pitting under the safety car rather than green flag conditions.
The Red Bull driver hinted at a split within the team when he explained that “Max and his team” would look over what went wrong for them on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
“When you win the race on pure pace, you’ve done better than your teammate,” Perez added.
“I’m sure Max and his team are going to have a look at that and try to understand it. That’s why it’s important from our side that we also understand those weaknesses.”
