Perez gambled and lost: 'It was a mess'

Perez had a terrible Saturday with a crash in Q1. He was supposed to be allowed to start 19th, but decided to make adjustments to the setup of his RB20 under parc fermé. It got him nowhere.

"We gambled a bit too early," Perez said of the decision to swap his hard tyres for intermediates early on. "We were out probably for seven laps, completely cooked the intermediate. And then when the rain came, there was no tyre left and it was just a mess overall. Then we boxed again, we were in the middle of the leaders, very difficult to make any progress. And yeah, just not an easy afternoon."

Perez continued, "I think it's a good time to have a bit of a break and get back to our form hopefully for Hungary and Belgium, two very important weekends," What the veteran needs to reset and how Red Bull will help him do so? "I think looking back at it, we had the strongest Friday in a while. So I think there's some light out of the tunnel," said Max Verstappen's teammate, who believes better Fridays are the key to better performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Perez signed a new contract at Red Bull last month, but since then little seems to have worked out. Criticism is swirling again and his future with the team is being doubted by critics. "I know where I am in terms of contract and that sort of thing. But I cannot let it be a distraction. I need to focus on the next two weekends, which are the priority," he said of the criticism. "And together with the team, as a team, to get out of this difficult period."