The qualifying session at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP served us all a thriller. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez out-qualified his teammate Max Verstappen while being just 0.035 seconds behind the eventual pole-sitter, Lewis Hamilton. However, instead of being elated to qualify on the front row, he was disappointed to not grab the maiden pole of his F1 career.
“P2, P2. Hamilton did a 14.4, yourself 14.4, you were three-hundredths,” said his race-engineer over the radio.
“F*ck!” exclaimed Sergio Perez in response. Afterward, he composed himself and came with a more mature response on the radio. Hoping to take the win tomorrow, he said, “Okay, good improvement guys. We get there tomorrow.”
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“Well done, Sergio. It was a great lap,” Team Principal, Christian Horner, also came on the radio to congratulate the Mexican.
This was a neat turn-around for Perez after he crashed out in the first practice session on Friday. However, he believed he would’ve been the pole-sitter, if not for a driver error.
“I didn’t expect to be here but I should have been on pole – I did a mistake on my final corner, but tomorrow is what matters. Anything can happen, we are on a different strategy to Lewis and Max. It is going to be interesting, see what we can do.
“Most important, get the points, get the learning, which is the priority at the moment.”
Read More: ‘Clearly Perez’s Fault’ – Marko Hangs His Red Bull Driver Out to Dry for Ocon F1 Clash
Verstappen blames a mistake in Tamburello chicane for losing to Sergio Perez
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Nobody would have put their money on Perez beating Verstappen in qualifying. Let alone just the second race of his Red Bull career, when he still getting to grips with the car. But the Dutchman made the mess of his lap and hopes to catch out the leader tomorrow.
“I went off in Turn Three, a bit messy, just not a good lap. Can’t be good every time. We’ll see what went wrong but still P3 is a good starting position. It’s going to be interesting, we have the two cars and different tyres so let’s see how that will workout.
“We will try to make it difficult for them,” said Max Verstappen after qualifying ended.
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Tomorrow’s race promises to be a spicy affair. Tune in and don’t miss out on the action.