Martin Brundle issues ‘to be fair’ claim about Sergio Perez after Singapore Grand Prix shocker

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Martin Brundle has issued his honest verdict about Sergio Perez after the Red Bull man bowed out of qualifying for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix in Q2 in just 13th place.

It marks back-to-back years that the Mexican has failed to reach the final phase of qualifying at Marina Bay. But unlike in 2023, when Max Verstappen also failed to put his Red Bull in the pole position shootout, Perez was the team’s only driver to fail to make it into the final stage.

Verstappen was within 0.040 seconds of setting the outright pace in Q2 as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri pipped the three-time defending champion. Perez, on the other hand, would only get within 0.939s of the Australian to finish qualifying behind the Williams pilots in P11 and P12.

Martin Brundle never felt Sergio Perez ‘had the speed’ at the Singapore Grand Prix

Just under a tenth of a second even spared Perez from finishing qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix behind Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen. But the 34-year-old has a mountain in the way to earn points this Sunday and help Red Bull fight McLaren in their constructors’ battle.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Singapore GP from Crashgate to Ferrari vs Max Verstappen

Yet Perez never seemed likely to thrive in qualifying from what Brundle had seen of the Red Bull driver at the Singapore GP. The ex-Tyrrell driver felt the Guadalajara native was never at ease with his RB20 at Marina Bay and faced a challenge to unlock its ultimate pace available.

“He hasn’t looked like he’s had the speed, to be fair,” Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (21/09, 14:41). “Sergio’s been struggling to find the ultimate pace in that car.”

Sergio Perez qualifies in P13 for back-to-back Singapore Grand Prix with Red Bull

Perez failing to qualify within the top 10 for the Singapore Grand Prix would have been one of Red Bull’s biggest fears going into the weekend. McLaren moved ahead of Red Bull by 20 points in constructors’ championship as Piastri won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out.

Last season’s Singapore GP also now acts as a bleak warning for Red Bull after Perez failed to make great progress from P13 on the grid. He only took the chequered flag in P18 having also destroyed Yuki Tsunoda’s race and drew a penalty for barging into Williams’ Alex Albon.

Perez ramming Albon at Turn 13 in the 2023 Singapore GP did not affect his finishing result as the five-second time penalty made no difference to his position. What might have made his race even worse a year ago was if George Russell did not crash from P3 on the final lap.