Perez gutted as podium finish was “half a lap” away

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez claimed he needed just another “half a lap” to overhaul Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and claim another podium in Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix.

Perez, who was hampered by a slow pit stop, switched to a two-stop strategy and used a fresh set of tyres to chase down third-placed Bottas in the closing stages, but ended up fourth, just 0.527 seconds behind his rival.

Asked how much longer he needed to snatch the position, Perez said: “Half a lap. It’s how it is sometimes. We had a poor stop, which meant we gave a position to Valtteri but then the team tried to recover with the strategy.

“Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn’t enough but we tried our very best.”

Perez needs to fix qualifying form

Perez started the race at the Red Bull Ring in fifth place on the grid after struggling to match his team-mate Max Verstappen’s pace in the Saturday qualifying session.

The Mexican, though, feels he is ‘almost’ there, adding: “It’s very little detail now, just putting together everything will be enough, so that’s the positive bit.

“We are there, we just have to be slotting everything together at the right time. It will be very positive to have another weekend here. “

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