Sergio Perez admitted to being disappointed to miss out on advancing to the top ten shoot out in Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, but his thirteenth place represents just where the pace his VJM11 is right now.
Neither Perez nor his Sahara Force India F1 Team team-mate Esteban Ocon were able to get out of Q2, with the Mexican more than four-tenths of a second shy of making it through even though he felt his own performance was good.
Perez hopes to be able to turn his weekend on Sunday and bring home some points, particularly as he feels Force India’s race pace looked better than their short run pace in practice.
“It’s disappointing not to be in Q3, but actually our performance was pretty good,” said Perez. “We worked the tyres well and I drove a very strong lap, but I think the end result reflects where we are at this moment.
“We thought we had a chance to make Q3, but tomorrow is when it really matters. I think some things could play into our hands tomorrow because our race pace looks better than the pace we showed today.
“There’s an extra DRS zone creating more opportunities and it’s a race where we often see the safety car. There’s a long way to go so let’s see what we can do.”
