Red Bulls Hunting Pole At Portimao

Jarrod Partridgeon May 1, 2021

PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL - APRIL 30: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda in the Pitlane during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve on April 30, 2021 in Portimao, Portugal. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202104300496 // Usage for editorial use only //

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After being marginally slower than their Mercedes rivals on the opening day of the FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN GRANDE PRÉMIO DE PORTUGAL 2021, both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez feel there is more to come from their raging bulls, and both have their eyes on pole tomorrow.

Max Verstappen Eyes Saturday Improvement

After coming to terms with the slippery surface at the Algarve International Circuit, Max Verstappen is eyeing the improvement necessary to take pole and land a blow on title rival Lewis Hamilton.

‘It feels great to be back on track in Portimao, the circuit is amazing but the conditions are very similar to last year and the tarmac is super slippery. The tyres have of course changed and we all lost a bit of grip from the cars compared to last year. It’s very tricky out there and not easy to switch the tyres on which is a shame because it seems to be all about tyre preparation and temperature. It’s the same situation for everyone so we just need to make sure we are on top of the car so we can make the best out of it. It seems tight with Mercedes this weekend again and the car felt alright but we still have some work to do ahead of tomorrow, that’s for sure,’ said Verstappen.

Sergio Perez Races To Redemption

After a day to forget at the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Sergio Perez is looking to quickly put things right, and there would be no better way to put his race at Imola in the rearview mirror than with pole in Portugal.

‘Today we had very similar track surface conditions to last year with limited grip on the new tarmac so it’s really hard to get the tyres to work. It’s not easy so the main focus is to understand what’s going on with the tyres. I think the pace on the mediums was good but when we went on to the soft compound we didn’t find any lap time so we’ll need to look into that and hopefully sort it out in time for qualifying. It’s hard to compare with the last round in Imola as it’s a very different track here and everywhere just has less grip overall due to the tarmac but I think we have pretty good pace in the car so hopefully we will be in the mix to fight for pole tomorrow,’ added Perez.