Perez's poor run in qualifying continues at British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Sergio Pérez has the quickest car in Formula One and can't make it count in qualifying.

Pérez hasn't qualified in the top 10 for five grands prix in a row after placing 16th in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday — though he later moved up a place when Valtteri Bottas was disqualified.

His teammate Max Verstappen is unbeatable in the same Red Bull car with five pole positions in succession, and Verstappen will be aiming for a sixth consecutive win in Sunday's race.

“The changing conditions made things a lot trickier, so we ended up having a poor qualifying,” Pérez said, saying an unexpectedly long red-flag stoppage left him with cold tires. "It’s going to be difficult to come through the field (in Sunday's race) but we will try our very best.”

It’s becoming a common sight to see Pérez working his way through the pack in races, generally for solid points finishes, but the standings gap to Verstappen has grown to 81 points. The Dutch driver is firmly on course to retain his title.

With Pérez still second in the standings, in part thanks to two wins and two poles of his own earlier this season, his slide in qualifying form is puzzling. The run started when he crashed in qualifying in Monaco in May, one race after the pole in Miami. The sole bright spot was second in the extra “shootout” qualifying session for last week's sprint race in Austria, though that isn't considered a full qualifying session.

While Red Bull has eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo under contract as its third driver, and Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries at its second team AlphaTauri, Pérez's position seems safe for now.

Team principal Christian Horner acknowledged it was “another tough quali for Checo (Pérez) but remaining confident for a good run tomorrow with plenty to race for."

Red Bull auto racing adviser Helmut Marko told German broadcaster Sky Sport that Pérez “needs to work on” his qualifying performances but was doing well in races. “There isn't anyone who could replace him,” Marko said.

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