Eyes forward for Perez after "great" Spanish qualifying

Sergio Perez is focussed on moving forward in the Spanish Grand Prix after qualifying fourth on his Formula 1 return.

Perez was forced to sit out the past two grands prix after testing positive for Covid-19, but on his return the Mexican out qualified team-mate Lance Stroll by one position.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if he was focussed more on protecting his starting position than attacking Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen in front, Perez replied: “No, [I'm] definitely [looking] to the front.

"I think [if we] are able to get a good start to get ahead of Max, we may be able to hold him back, because here is not an easy track to pass, and the amount of [tyre] saving and management that we have to do tomorrow is going to be extreme.”

He added: “Well, I think in terms of pace we don’t quite have the pace to beat the Red Bull and especially the Mercedes, but who knows?

“If we are able to get ahead in turn one, who knows?”

Since rebranding from Force India to Racing Point in 2018, the team has yet to score a podium - the most recent success coming with third place for Perez in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Mexican's team-mate Lance Stroll commented that the race will be "challenging for everyone", with conditions once again set to be soar.

"I expect Alex [Albon] to have a good pace," Stroll said. "He demonstrated that last weekend at Silverstone.

"We will just have to run our race, try and get a good start and from there, optimise the strategy. That's all we can focus on. It is going to be a very hot race tomorrow, so I expect it to be very challenging for everyone out there."

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