Perez claims return to F1 form will be “even sweeter” after another Q1 crash

Sergio Perez reckons “it will be even sweeter” to prove his detractors wrong when he regains his Formula 1 form, following his Hungarian Grand Prix Q1 crash.

The Red Bull driver lost the rear end when entering the left-handed Turn 8, which pitched him into a spin. He came to rest in the barrier, causing a red flag and ultimately contributing to a provisional 16th place in qualifying – albeit with heavy damage to his car.

Perez said it had started to rain a little harder at Turn 8 compared to the other corners, contributing to his loss of grip over the kerb that began his incident.

Feeling that he perhaps could have backed out of the lap, he was aware that it was an unwelcome addition to his poor run of form this season.

He added that this made it difficult to face the media, but vowed to prove current speculation over his Red Bull future wrong – suggesting it would be “sweeter” to handle questions if he manages to turn things around.

PLUS: The real choice Red Bull has to make about Perez’s F1 future

“I was just on a good lap – but, in hindsight, probably we didn’t need that lap. It’s something we will review,” Perez said after his crash.

“But I think these conditions can catch out anyone, but unfortunately it has been me with two in a row. But I’m determined to turn things around.

“It’s obviously quite hard to face all the media after these difficult moments. But I think when we get back to it, it will be even sweeter.”

Perez said that, apart from minor pain in his leg, he was ready to atone for his error in Sunday’s race and felt that points were nonetheless possible in the grand prix.

Although he finished qualifying in 16th, his grid position depends on the extent of the damage to his RB20; for instance, any gearbox change would result in a pitlane start.

However, he admitted it was difficult to suffer another mistake after feeling that he had picked up in performance over practice, particularly across Friday’s sessions; the Mexican had been fourth fastest in FP2.

“It’s something that was so hard to judge the conditions,” he said. “It was raining harder, but at the end we were not losing grip. I was improving my lap.

“I can say when you look at it, we were safe. We didn’t need to do the lap, but you always know a lot afterwards.

“It hurts that it happened again, especially in the run that I’m going through. But I’m determined to turn this around…