“A lot closer” - Sergio Perez plays down Red Bull’s early F1 advantage in testing

Sergio Perez has played down claims that Red Bull have a substantial advantage over their F1 rivals, claiming it’s “a lot closer” than some people are making out.

Perez spent the whole day in the RB20, taking over from world champion teammate Max Verstappen.

The Mexican set the second-fastest time of the day - the fastest of any driver on the C3 tyre - completing 129 laps in the process.

Red Bull’s form has been ominous, particularly after Verstappen dominated day one, topping the timesheets by over a second.

However, Perez feels the gap to Red Bull’s rivals has shrunk over the winter.

“I believe that things are a lot closer than we are thinking, definitely,” Perez said.

“I don’t really think that we’ve had much of a look [at our rivals] in that regard,” he added.

“At the moment we’re basically focused on our job, we’ve been so busy with our programme. I think tomorrow, there will be a bit more of an idea, but I think we will find out next Sunday [following the Bahrain Grand Prix].”

Perez hailed the RB20 as a “step forward in the right direction” despite the conditions being “tricky”.

“Generally speaking, it’s definitely a step forward in the right direction with the car,” he added. “It’s obviously a very tricky track, with the morning to the afternoon, dialling in some set-up, and getting to understand some set-up compound. 

“It’s very tricky because the track is changing pretty much every outing, so you have to base everything pretty much on your feeling.”

Perez will be back in the car on Friday morning before handing over to Verstappen.