"I hope we make a lot of Aussies happy tomorrow" – Sergio Perez upbeat after qualifying P3 for 2022 F1 Australian GP

Sergio Perez has confirmed he wants to put on a good show for F1 fans Down Under after qualifying in P3 for the 2022 F1 Australian GP.

The Mexican driver's time of 1:18.240 was just a smidge shy of the lap time set by his teammate Max Verstappen. Despite that, Checo was in a chipper mood during his post-qualifying interview with former F1 driver-turned-analyst, Johnny Herbert. When asked to share his thoughts after the session, Perez said:

“It felt good. [In] Q1, Q2, things were going good. You know, with all the red flags, it’s very hard to the momentum going. I regret a bit the decision we took going into Q3 with our strategy on the tires but I think P3 is a good start for tomorrow.”

The 32-year-old took notice of the huge crowd that had descended on Albert Park for their first F1 qualifying session since 2019. Speaking to more than 110,000 people packed to the rafters in Melbourne, Perez said:

“I hope we make a lot of Aussies very happy tomorrow because there’s a full grand stand already on Saturday. Hopefully tomorrow we can give them a nice race.”

Perez could see himself in the role of Max Verstappen's wingman come the race on Sunday. With Ferrari's Carlos Sainz only managing to qualify in P9, Red Bull could be able to capitalize with two cars going up against the one Prancing Horse of Charles Leclerc on pole.

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Red Bull weighing up options between Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly, confirms Dr. Helmut Marko

While Sergio Perez continues to be an able second driver to support Max Verstappen for Red Bull, Dr. Helmut Marko has admitted that the team remains undecided about him in the future.

Checo's current contract with Red Bull is set to expire at the end of the 2022 season. The Mexican's place in the team could be under threat from AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.

Gasly, a product of Red Bull's fabled junior driver program, is contracted with the team until 2023. Should a new offer to join Red Bull's works team not materialize, the Frenchman could seek newer pastures.

Speaking of the conundrum at hand to Formel1 in Germany, Marko said:

“If his contract expires and we can’t offer him [Pierre Gasly] any chance of promotion, we will most likely lose him. We don’t want that. At the moment we still have a contract with ‘Checo’ [Sergio Perez] and we have to compare the performance of these two drivers. With ‘Checo’ we still have until the middle of the year. The car suits him better, he feels more comfortable. And he knows the team. We are very happy that this development has taken place.”

In addition to Perez and Gasly, Red Bull also has a host of up-and-coming young drivers who could all be vying for that coveted F1 seat in the years to come.