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Sergio Perez missed out on what should have been an easy podium at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix this weekend as a result of engine issues. Convinced that it could have been a second consecutive 1-2 finish for Red Bull at the Miami International Autodrome, the Mexican admitted his frustrations with the car's issues.
In a post-race media interaction, Perez reflected on the race and acknowledged that given the loss of power, a fourth-place finish is a decent result and limits the damage. He said:
“I think we lost another 1-2 today, to be honest. I think we had tremendous pace in the car, I was pushing Carlos, I was looking after the tires in the first stint and then this unfortunate issue with the engine. I don’t think we know [what the issue was] yet but I was losing a lot of lap-time on the straight, it was down a lot - the engine. It is very frustrating that these things keep happening. On the other hand, on a bad day I managed to finish fourth, which is good.”
After the inaugural Miami race, Sergio Perez currently stands third in the driver standings and is under threat from George Russell, who is quickly catching up.
"I would have had a chance" - Sergio Perez claims he could have fought for the win in Miami
For the second time this season, Sergio Perez became a victim of Red Bull's engine problems. The 32-year-old was convinced that the car had the potential to bring the team a great result, if not a win, had the issues not occurred.
As reported by Autosport, Perez said:
“I was in a great spot. Unfortunately even with a DRS, I couldn’t get close to Carlos, the deficit on the straight-line was quite high. I was just pushing really hard to stay close to him on the corners. My tyres were overheating, so as soon as I had a little opportunity, I went for it. It was too dirty offline. After that I just couldn’t get close. The deficit on the straight-line was too much. With a normal engine, I would have had a chance [to win the Miami GP].”
Perez went on to find optimism despite his troubles, saying:
“We need to keep working hard because every time we finding different issues. Luckily we managed to finish the race. I think at one point, it was really close to being over. So yeah, to be able to finish the race is good.”
Earlier this year, in the season opener in Bahrain, Red Bull had a nightmare race with a double DNF as a result of reliability issues. For this reason, Perez was certainly happy to have crossed the checkered flag in the first place.
