Perez admits he "didn't have the pace" in F1 Canadian GP

The Mexican had a poor Q2 session and started 12th, with the team then opting for a one-stop strategy starting on the hard tyres in an attempt to boost him up the order.

While he made good progress, he got caught behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. They also pitted only once but ran an opposite strategy with an opening stint on mediums.

Right at the end of the race, Perez had enough of a gap on the cars behind to be able to pit for fresh tyres and secure the fastest lap bonus point.

“Well I feel that there was a little bit more certainly,” said Perez when asked by Motorsport.com if he could have done better than sixth.

“But we just didn't have the pace today. We did struggle. I think we got hurt massively with the safety car, that it came at the wrong moment for us. Luck is not with us at the moment, but it's how it is at the moment.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Asked about his underlying struggle for pace over the Montreal weekend, he was clear about the main problem.

“Basically under braking,” he replied. “I think the ride hasn't been great, so under braking I think was the biggest thing.

“And it is where we think we need to come on top of and make sure that we are able to figure out what's happening, and then come back strong.”

Asked if he could expand on the origin of the problem, he said: “Not at the moment. We did something with tyres, something with set-up, a few bits that they need to understand exactly.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner downplayed the suggestion that there was a mechanical issue with the car.

“Certainly, I don't think there's anything specific,” said Horner. “I think he was struggling like the others to generate tyre temps. So of course, that's something that Max has always been very strong at with the way he drives the car.

“So I think Checo, he started on the hard tyre, he lost a little bit of touch before the stop on the medium. He had some similar issues to the hard but then had a free gap.

“And that's where we banged the fastest lap. He was not far off what the simulation suggested, to be honest.

Asked if there was a scenario where Perez could have got ahead of, Ferraris Horner said: “You would have needed a reasonable pace offset but we didn't have that today with Checo.”