Perez: A lot of improvements to make our car better

Sergio Perez was closer in qualifying in Bahrain to his his double Formula 1 Champion, Max Verstappen, but finished the race on Sunday 12s behind him in second.

The Mexican had a bad start to his race, losing his second place to Charles Leclerc, but a combination of Red Bull's smart strategy and some decent driving meant he overhauled the Monegasque who later on retired due to car trouble.

Speaking of his race, Perez said in Red Bull's press release: "My start wasn't ideal, Charles was a little too aggressive, pushed me to the right and I did my best to avoid him.

"That meant my first stint wasn't ideal, Charles was very strong on that new tyre and it was difficult to get through him quickly enough.

"I think that's where I lost out to Max, I was behind him by about 10 or 12 seconds and after that it was game over on catching Max, it was all about getting Charles," Perez added. "It was important to get by him, minimise the damage and get that P2 for the Team.

Perez insists the team can do much more to improve; he explained: "There are a lot of improvements we can still make to try and make our car better, there is still plenty of work going on behind the scenes.

"On this tarmac we have been very strong but Bahrain is a very unique circuit and things will be closer at other circuits," Perez concluded.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said of Perez's race: "Checo had a bit of work to do with Charles, but he played it well and then from there it was about managing the race till the end."

Red Bull leave Bahrain leading both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.