Though he's confident that he's getting there, Sergio Perez admits that it's still taking him too long to get up to speed.

Off the pace, certainly compared to his teammate, throughout the three practice sessions, the Mexican qualified eighth for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Up to 6th by the end of the first lap, he progressed as high as fourth before slipping back once the pit stops began.

In the final stages of the race he reeled in Daniel Ricciardo, and while adding a further 10 points to the Red Bull tally, team boss Christian Horner admitted that his services were needed up front where Max Verstappen had been battling the Mercedes pair.

"The two lead guys were so far ahead of the rest of the pack as it were, that Lewis had a free stop as he had in Hungary," said Horner. "You know that he's only got to get past his team-mate, and that was never going to be an issue.

"That's why we need both cars up there strategically so that option isn't available to Mercedes," he admitted.

"I think it's coming together for him," he insisted. "He had an off-day (in qualifying) and he was compromised in the race behind Daniel. Obviously then he didn't manage to make the headway at a track where it is so difficult to pass, because we desperately need him to be in that gap so that the Mercedes' don't have the strategic options that they had. I'm convinced that that will come for Checo, as he finds more confidence, and more time in the car."

"It's important to keep making those steps and put the whole weekend together," said Perez. "It just takes me too long to get up to speed.

"When we get to a new circuit on a Friday, I'm like adapting my style," he continued. "So I'm still not there with the car yet.

"But you see that things are coming, but not together," he admitted. "But I think once we are able to put them together, definitely we have the pace to be able to go pretty quick.

"I'm getting more confident with the car, obviously. I mean, every time I get to the end of the weekend, I'm like, 'f***, I wish that we can just start with now'.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 14/05/2021 18:29

"Perez is lucky to have a seat on a front running team. I see him getting a podium this season."

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2. Posted by USAF1genius, 13/05/2021 0:36

"Perez is doing better then his predecessors as (lets face it) Verstappens #2. Max is in the Lewis / Schumacher / Senna league of drivers. That said. He is helping the team and his improvement is on the way. Good pick by the team to hire him and it is paying off. Hope is he can squeeze out a victory or two this season."

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3. Posted by Batman, 11/05/2021 16:44

"As we recently saw in the form of words from silver arrows mouths, this kind of driver manager philosophy will only bring (even more) negativity to magic potion brand box side."

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It's taking me too long to get up to speed, admits Perez

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