Perez: Ferrari would have 'won' even without Verstappen's retirement

Ferrari's formidable pace

Despite Max Verstappen starting on pole, Sergio Perez admitted Red Bull lacked the outright pace of Ferrari throughout the Melbourne weekend.

He credited Sainz's race victory to the Scuderia's performance rather than Verstappen's early retirement.

"Absolutely," Perez stated when asked if Sainz still would have won.

"I think just as a team, we just didn't have the pace today. We were struggling already from Friday."

Tyre management woes

A key issue for Red Bull was their inability to manage tyre degradation, especially on the front axle.

Perez highlighted that front-limited circuits like Albert Park exposed a weakness compared to Ferrari.

"We just couldn't look after the front tyres...Ferrari was a lot stronger than us."

"We were struggling already from Friday and we never got on top of the management of tyres."

he explained.

Red Bull's compromised strategy

Perez's own race was compromised by a three-place grid penalty that forced him to start sixth.

This left him trapped behind the struggling Mercedes of George Russell early on, overworking his tyres.

"Losing the place to him was very damaging...just a very bad weekend,"

Perez rued, unable to make inroads on the McLaren of Oscar Piastri late on.

Ferrari's front tyres

While Red Bull grappled with front tyre graining, Ferrari appeared to have found a strong solution.

Their practice pace and ability to manage this issue impressed Perez, contributing to his view that Sainz would have prevailed regardless of Verstappen's misfortune.

Red Bull's woes in Melbourne raise questions about their car concept's suitability for front-limited circuits and tyre management capabilities compared to Ferrari's strong performance.

As the season progresses to more front-limited tracks like Las Vegas, optimizing set-up and front tyre wear will be crucial for their title aspirations.