Mercedes straight-line speed in Brazil ‘on another planet’ - Perez

Lewis Hamilton’s impressive speed in a straight line caught the attention of many as the seven-time champion cut his way through the field to fifth in the Saturday sprint race.

Hamilton was in untouchable form, overtaking both Red Bulls en route to his first victory since Russia to get his title challenge back on track. 

With Mercedes’ straight-line advantage under great scrutiny by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Perez was left amazed by its advantage on the straights at Interlagos. 

“I mean, the straight-line speed was from another planet,” Perez said. “I looked at my mirror at the exit, and I felt very safe. 

“But then I look back into it again and he’s right next to me. It was really impressive.

“They’ve been really surprising. So we’ll see what we are able to do going into Qatar. 

“I think it’s going to be a different track. Probably the straight-line speed is not so relevant over there so hopefully we can be a lot more competitive.”

Perez was on course for a fourth consecutive podium finish until a timely Virtual Safety Car allowed Bottas to jump back ahead.

The Mexican thinks without it, he would have finished third given that he and Bottas had similar race pace.

“We just got very unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car timing which gave the podium to Bottas,” Perez added.

“So I think we had the podium, we had the position and I think it was going to be possible to hold him behind because we pretty much had the same pace, Valtteri and myself.”

The result in Interlagos means Red Bull now trails Mercedes by 11 points in the constructors’ championship, while Perez is 25 points off Bottas in the race for third.