Perez targets qualifying improvements to boost Red Bull title hopes

Sergio Perez is confident his Red Bull struggles will be over if he can find a level of consistency that has so far eluded him in qualifying.

After making an embarrassing Q2 exit on his Red Bull debut in Bahrain, Perez stuck back by qualifying second at Imola and fourth in Portugal, the former a result that saw him best team-mate Max Verstappen.

However, in the past two races the Mexican has lined up on the fourth and fifth rows of the grid, a factor that has severely limited his prospects come race day.

"I’m really looking forward to Baku and I hope we can put a strong qualifying together because we’ve proved that our race pace is right up there with the best, he said.

"We just have to improve our Saturdays and then we should be fine."

Championship lead changes nothing

Red Bull assumed the lead of both the constructors' and drivers' championships through Verstappen's Monaco victory and Perez's astonishing recovery drive.

For the Mexican, the changes nothing, with the season a 23 race marathon and not a sprint.

He added: "It doesn’t change anything. We have to stay realistic and know that it’s race five of the season. It doesn’t matter where we are now, it only matters where we end up at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi.

"We need to keep our heads down and continue working as hard as we have been doing in the past months."

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