The Mexican driver started the Grand Prix on the hard tire compound, but he couldn’t fully capitalize on this choice in the initial stint. The mandatory stint lengths enforced by the FIA, combined with the tire characteristics, posed challenges. Perez explained, “The hard really complicated things for us, especially with the Safety Car. We couldn’t warm up the tire, and then we ended up losing positions.”
The safety car periods further compounded the tire temperature issue, preventing Perez from making quick progress as he would have hoped. Perez found himself stuck behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu during the first stint, a situation that typically wouldn’t be expected for a Red Bull driver. “Yeah, I just couldn’t get the temperature in the tire,” he remarked.
