Perez saw Verstappen approaching fast in Miami: 'This doesn't look good'

Perez came to the Miami race weekend with so much confidence, but returns home with a big hangover. With the support of almost all the fans, things could hardly go wrong for the Red Bull driver from pole, but miraculously Verstappen won from P9. A unique achievement by the Dutchman, but a painful loss for 'Checo'.

Perez hands down

''Well done to Max, he had a tremendous race and deserved to win, I am really happy for him. It is not always nice when you lead the race and end up second, certainly I didn’t have the pace of Max and it is something we are going to analyse to see how we can do better,'' Perez let it be noted in Red Bull Racing's press release.

Perez soon realised it was not going to be his day. ''When I saw how strong Max was coming through the field and I was struggling a bit, I thought 'this isn’t looking too good'. I think the performance Max showed today was not reachable for me, so I have to understand why. I think some was tyre related but equally, overall, he was the stronger driver today (Sunday).''

So there is a lot to analyse for Perez in the coming weeks. After fine victories in Saudi Arabia and Baku, Perez appears to have a harder time on Verstappen's ground. In fast corner combinations, the Mexican loses too much ground. This bodes well for Imola, a circuit that may be even more suited to Verstappen.