By Lucy Ha
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) – Sergio Perez lamented another tough afternoon as Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen racked up his sixth win in a row to power 99 points clear in the Formula One championship.
“Nothing worked today,” the Mexican told reporters after finishing sixth from 15th on the grid in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
“I had a great launch (at the start) but then I was pushed off by (Alpine’s Esteban) Ocon on lap one, and I lost positions instead of gaining, so it just made the recovery harder.
“I used too much my tyres on that first stint and then we boxed I think three laps before the safety car, so it wasn’t meant to be.
“In the end we gave it all and we did what we possibly could.”
Perez said he was lucky not to get a puncture when he and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg made contact early on, with the German having to pit for a new front wing.
The Mexican remains Verstappen’s closest rival and despite the double world champion’s domination he managed to put some more distance between himself and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who is now 19 points behind.
Red Bull have won every race this season and Verstappen’s victory was a record-equalling 11th in a row dating back to last year’s Abu Dhabi finale.
Perez started the year strongly with two wins in four races but has only twice finished on the podium in his last six outings.
He has also failed to qualify in the top 10 in his last five races.
That has led to speculation about his future, although team boss Christian Horner said last weekend in Austria that the Mexican still had Red Bull’s full confidence.
“I have full support from the team, I’m mentally very strong and I know that I will overcome these issues and turn around my season,” said Perez. “The pace is there and I can still get back to where I should be.”
(Writing by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
