Sergio Perez curses missed Sprint Shootout opportunities after Charles Leclerc pole

Sergio Perez

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Perez curses missed Sprint Shootout opportunities after Leclerc pole

Sergio Perez couldn't capitalise on Charles Leclerc's Sprint Shootout crash

Harry Smith

Saturday 29 April 2023 14:48

Sergio Perez has claimed he could have topped the Sprint Shootout if he'd had a cleaner run on his final qualifying lap.

The Mexican beat team-mate Max Verstappen to second during Saturday morning's Sprint Shootout session, getting his revenge for Friday's deficit to the Dutchman.

Beating Verstappen wasn't enough to claim pole position for the sprint race unfortunately, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc securing a brace of pole positions with another impressive lap.

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This qualifying result will offer Perez the chance to close in on his team-mate in the championship fight with the gap between the pair currently standing at 15 points.

Tricky test in Baku

Speaking with Sky Sports after the Sprint Shootout, Perez said: "It was a tricky session in the end.

"I think just having a little bit more of a clean run on my lap will have helped me probably to get pole, you know with Charles [Leclerc] hitting the wall.