Poorly Perez happy to join 'perfect' Verstappen on podium
It was another impressive race weekend for Red Bull Racing, which extended its unbroken run of victories in 2023 with a clean sweep across the Austrian GP weekend for Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was quickest in practice, qualifying, the showdown, the sprint and finally Sunday's race and frankly never looked under serious threat from any direction at the Red Bull Ring.
"I think our stints were perfect," he said of today's performance, which saw him clinch maximum points in the championship, although he wasn't able to lead the race from lights to flag like he so often does.
Although he took command from pole position, committing himself to a long first stint while Charles Leclerc seized the chance to pit under a Virtual Safety Car meant he ended up ceding the lead for ten laps mid-race.
He wasn't worries though, and knew it would shake out his way in the end.
"We opted not to box during the virtual safety car, and just follow our normal strategy," he explained in parc ferme afterwards.
"I think that worked out really well because the tyre life was not that high around here," he added. "I could see already the few laps before the virtual safety car came out, we were pulling out quite a gap.
"So I knew that I would get them back eventually," he concluded. "I think just following our own plan at the time was the best way forward."
Perez weekend was much less straightforward. He had missed Thursday's media day due to illness and admitted that he had still been poorly when he finally arrived at the track.
"It's been a very difficult weekend for me personally, physically," he revealed. "I was sick on Thursday, so it hasn't been easy weekend.
Perez said he had suffered from "high fevers, no sleep" and a lack of strength, which might account for that disastrous qualifying on session in which he kept having lap times deleted for exceeding track limits.
It left him without a time in the second round, meaning that he started today's race from a lowly 15th on the grid - in sharp contrast to his front row spot for the sprint on Saturday.
But he put in a battling recovery drive in the race and used every opportunity to move forward, with a highlight being his extended fierce duel with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz over third place to join Verstappen and Leclerc on the podium.
"A great recovery from the team, fantastic strategy and we had great pace." he beamed as he celebrated in parc ferme.
It's his first time in the top three since Miami, after what's proved to be a troubled spell for the Mexican in Monaco, Spain and Canada.
"It's been a bit of a rough patch for me," he acknowledged. "Now hopefully we are back and we can keep those positions here now."
Unfortunately even with this weekend's return to form, Perez has dropped a further 12 points behind Verstappen in the drivers championship, giving the Dutch driver a dominating 81 point lead in the standings after just ten races.
Red Bull's margin over Mercedes in the constructors battle is now 199 points, with Aston Martin just six points further back.
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