27 August 2023 , 12:38
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Toto Wolff was flummoxed by how far Sergio Perez was away from Max Verstappen in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Predictably, home hero Verstappen secured pole position at Zandvoort. And he did it in style, more than half a second clear of his nearest challenger Lando Norris, who had to settle for second place on the grid.
The gap between the two Red Bull cars was even more eye-catching. Perez qualified seventh fastest, with a best time which was more than 1.3 seconds slower than the lap which made sure of pole position for the man gunning for nine-straight Formula 1 victories this weekend.
Speaking to reporters, including Mirror Sport, after the session, Mercedes chief Wolff was asked for his thoughts about the huge difference in lap time between the Red Bull pair. The words he chose to describe it were "odd" and "bizarre".
He added: "Checo is not an idiot. We have seen it always, he is a multiple Grand Prix winner. I cannot comprehend it. We've seen that Max has this ability to create a car for himself which is very tricky to control but fast if you can, and it makes those gaps like the 1.3 seconds. I haven't heard any explanation of course but yes, odd."
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Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko questioned how Perez approaches qualifying sessions after another in which he struggled. "For Checo, they did two warm-up laps – I don't think that was the right choice.
"Besides, being Max's teammate is the worst position to be in, especially at this moment. Sergio is not the best driver in qualifying, we also know by now. Strategically it wasn't good either, but that was a decision by him and his engineer, how they handled it. That decision was not good and that definitely made a difference."
Perez admitted that he had made that mistake that was pointed out by Marko. "I think we probably took the wrong strategy in regards to a double push lap, I think we took too much out of the tyre," he told reporters.
"But as always, you know the better strategy after the session. Anyway, we are P7 and the main target is to have a strong start and then go forwards from there. It's going to be tricky, definitely. Certainly tomorrow with the amount of fast cars around us. It will be hard to make progress but I'm confident we can make it."