An exciting Saturday in Saudi Arabia saw Sergio Perez win the record for most races before taking center stage – while the Mexican also achieved his country’s first pole position in Formula 1 with a stunning effort under the floodlights at Jeddah’s Corniche circuit.
Perez was a step behind teammate Max Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers throughout the weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing at least third in any free practice session or qualifying segment.
But the scintillating final lap of the third quarter from the Mexican saw him set a record time of 1 million 28.200 seconds to take first – in his 215th race – just 0.025 seconds off Charles Leclerc, with Perez unable to hide his joy after qualifying.
READ MORE: Perez beats Ferrari for impressive first place in Saudi Arabia Qualifier
“it’s a wonderful feeling!” said Perez, who along with Verstappen failed to score in the season opener in Bahrain one week ago. We came from a tough weekend [in] The Bahrain national team and the team have been pushing hard to come home in Milton Keynes, everyone is really positive and very happy for that.”
When asked what he clicked behind the wheel of his Red Bull RB18 in the third quarter, Perez replied: “I think the level of risk and getting into that cadence and accuracy was key.
He added, “If there’s ever a place you want to be, it’s this place, because you know you made it into your lap and you got a totally perfect lap.”
Sergio Perez is confident he can take advantage of the “perfect lap” and first pole