Perez felt "very comfortable” on Red Bull F1 debut at Silverstone
Sergio Perez says he felt “very comfortable” driving a Red Bull Formula 1 car for the first time as he completed a two-day test at Silverstone.
The Mexican, who has been drafted in to replace Alex Albon at Red Bull for 2021, experienced both wet and dry running across Monday and Tuesday as he acclimatised to Red Bull’s procedures in a 2019-specification RB15.
The two-day test provided Perez his first experience of new elements including Red Bull’s steering wheel and the Honda power unit, having previously only driven with Mercedes engines throughout the V6 turbo-charged hybrid era.
“It’s been amazing,” Perez said. “To look at my name on the car is something very special. It’s definitely a dream come true.
“We’ve already done a lot of work in the simulator working on the controls and I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made in terms of feeling more comfortable in the car.
“Obviously I’ve been driving in a car for seven years in a cockpit, in a seat, with certain pedals, so the position itself is quite a challenge to get on top of.
“We are working hard and we definitely made good steps in that. I have to say that for a first day, I felt very comfortable.
“Getting comfortable in the cockpit is important so that when we get to Bahrain, I’m able to just focus on trying to get the performance right, because with a day and a half in the car, it’s really nothing.
“So the more we can get done here, the more we will be prepared for the first test in Bahrain.”
Perez focused on short runs to optimise seat fitting, pedal adjustment, and familiarisation with operational procedures on Monday, before switching attention to carrying out long runs and race preparation on Tuesday.
He described himself as "like a dog finding a new family” after joining up with the Milton Keynes outfit in January, having switched teams for the first time since 2014, but now Perez feels like everything is more “normal”.
“I am very pleased with how my first day went because I was on top of all of the procedures, improving and learning from them,” he explained.
“I think the preparation that we did up until this test day has been good and I think it’s been very helpful to have this first day in the team.
“Everything about the car is different. It’s still an F1 car in the end but the seating position is different, the steering wheel, the brakes, the buttons, procedures, the power unit, the power delivery, the torque, just so many things are different.”
Perez will join teammate Verstappen in shaking down Red Bull’s new 2021 F1 car, the RB16B, on Wednesday at the British Grand Prix venue.
Following his demotion to reserve driver, Albon will also be in action for Red Bull at its shakedown, where he will drive the RB15 and work with both Verstappen and Perez on feedback from the RB16B.
