‘We’ve got a fundamental issue’ – Sergio Perez bemoans lack of grip in Las Vegas after sixth Q1 exit of 2024

“I did expect a very difficult qualifying and yeah it turned out to be a tough one.”

Perez added that “I think we’ve got a fundamental issue at the moment with the car that is just not working for me” and that “at the moment we come to the weekends and we just explore a lot of things – it’s just a difficult one to make it work.”

He continued: “You want to be up there, especially I know what I can do. But when you don’t have that grip underneath you, then it’s really hard, and you’re prone to a lot of mistakes and so on.”

READ MORE: Wolff expands on ‘shelf-life’ comment as he admits Mercedes have ‘failed’ Hamilton

Perez has endured a difficult run of form through 2024, and has scored only 20 points since Formula 1 returned from its summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Perez faces starting from 16th place but, while acknowledging the race “is going to be a very tricky one,” he is optimistic of making gains across the field.

“There’s a long race ahead, a lot of things will happen, and I believe we will be more competitive come race day,” he said. “Yesterday we looked a lot better over the long race than over a single lap.”