The qualifications of the Qatar Grand Prix had highlighted some surprising results at the end of Q2, where drivers of top teams of the caliber of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez they had not been able to access the third and final session. In particular, the Mexican from Red Bull – one of the two drivers on the track to have already competed in Losail in the past – had in fact had to stop at11th place, with a result that seemed to have compromised his race even before starting it.
Instead, contrary to expectations, the 31-year-old from Guadalajara made a remarkable comeback from the center of the group, coming close to the podium with the fourth place the final. Thanks to this placement, Checo contributed to the recovery of his team in the constructors’ standings; the Austrian team is now alone 5 points of disadvantage from Mercedes, thanks to the second place of Verstappen and the simultaneous retirement of Valtteri Bottas.
Interviewed at the end of the race, Perez underlined a certain disappointment for not having realized his recovery with a place in the top three, with the lowest step occupied instead by an excellent Fernando Alonso: “We would have deserved the podium – He admitted – when we start eleventh there is not much to hope for. We did a good first stint, but unfortunately it didn’t work out as we wanted. It was not even clear which strategy to adopt and how many stops to make, if only one or two. In any case, we had the podium in our pockets until the intervened Virtual Safety Car. At that point we were no longer able to take Fernando – he concluded – but we have equally limited the damage ”.
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