Perez Pins Hopes on Red Bull’s New Floor Design to Revive Formula 1 Fortunes
Sergio Perez is banking on Red Bull’s upcoming floor design update to help him recover from his recent Formula 1 slump. The Mexican driver’s dismal performance at Silverstone, which saw him spin into the gravel at Copse and make a premature switch to Intermediates, has only added to the speculation surrounding his future with the team. Despite signing a new contract, Perez has managed a paltry 15 points across the last six rounds.
Perez Remains Optimistic
However, Perez remains optimistic that he can turn his campaign around, and he believes that Red Bull’s updated floor could be the breakthrough moment he needs. “I’m just trying to find the solutions, really,” Perez said post-race. “I think we’re making good progress. We are just about to unlock a couple of tenths from our side and our life will be very different, back to where we were at the start of the year.”
New Floor Design Introduced at Silverstone
The new floor design, which was introduced at Silverstone, was only available on one side of the garage, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. Max Verstappen used the sole iteration, but it was damaged when he spun out at Copse during Q1. Despite the damage, Verstappen still managed to qualify fourth on the grid, much to Horner’s surprise.
“So actually the lap time he did in quali, to be as close as he was – if you could see the floor it was like something out of Scrapheap Challenge that the mechanics managed to put back together – it was super-impressive,” Horner said.
Damage Affects Car Balance
Verstappen’s initial downforce loss was an estimated 100 points, but the repairs managed to recover a reasonable portion of that. However, the damage still affected the balance of the car, which took away the front-end grip.
Perez is confident that the new floor design will help him regain his form, and he is looking forward to getting his hands on it at the next race. With the Formula 1 calendar heating up, every point counts, and Perez knows that he needs to perform if he wants to stay in the mix. For now, he remains focused on finding solutions and unlocking the potential of his car.
🔗 Source