Lightning Strikes Twice As Sergio Perez Painfully Misses Out On Eclipsing Imola GP Polesitter Max Verstappen

It is never easy to be a teammate with a world champion. So, the Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has an enormous task in hand to be on the same team as Max Verstappen. However, the challenge favored Checo and is pushing him to do better this season.

Perez is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. But he got to join a strong team on the grid only last season. He was just the second driver for Red Bull and was out-performed by Max Verstappen for most of the season.

But it seems the tables turned this season for the Red Bull duo. As Checo is out-performing his world champion teammate. He bagged a pole in the Saudi Arabian GP and even ranks ahead of Max in the drivers’ standings. Checo is at P4 while Verstappen is at P6.

The Red Bull duo is in Imola at the moment for the fourth race weekend of this season. They both showcased phenomenal performance during the Friday qualifying for the Imola sprint race. Verstappen eventually ended up on the pole while Perez qualified P7.

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However, Checo could have bagged his second pole this season. As reports suggest, Perez set a purple Sector 1 and had his Sector 2 was also good which could have ended him on the pole. But Perez had to abort the lap because of the red flag towards the end of the Friday Qualifying.

Sergio Perez will make up for the positions

The red flag saga haunted the Mexican driver. Because of the frequent red flags, Checo couldn’t heat up his tires properly to set a flying lap and move up the positions. But even with qualifying seventh for the Imola sprint race, the 32-year-old doesn’t seem much disappointed.

Checo is fully motivated and looking forward to making up for his P7 in the sprint race. After the Friday qualifying, Perez said “I am pleased with the pace of the car though, I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

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Although he retired from the first race and then lost his lead in Jeddah, Checo is having a great season. Moreover, he redeemed these disappointing results with his second-place finish in Melbourne. Can Checo finish higher in the Imola sprint race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.