Sergio Perez's Red Bull experience has been variable so far, with two top five placements, at Sakhir and Portimao, but a rather difficult race in Italy, ending out of the points after almost getting pole position.

The Mexican driver, however, thinks that in the upcoming Spanish GP, he'll be able to fight for what would be his first podium with his new team, but warns that it won't be easy:

"I think we should be in the fight right from the start. It is a very particular track, with very slow corners and then three and nine are high speed corners, so the key here is to find the right balance and to take care of the right side tyres," he said in a press release

The track won't be the only key factor to take into consideration, as the weather conditions, just like in Portimao, could make a difference too: "The wind is also something to consider. It's a very tricky circuit, but as I said, we should be competitive from the beginning and fight for the win."

Regardless of the "trickiness" of the Catalunya track, Perez has sweet memories there, it being the place where he scored points for the first time back in 2011 with Sauber:

"Yes it is a special place, in 2011 I scored my first points in F1 and who knows, maybe could be the place for my first podium with Red Bull," he added. "It's a track where qualifying is very important so I'm pretty sure we are ready for this challenge."

He's also curious to see how his RB16B will perform there, as the usual winter testing session was held in Bahrain:

"This year we didn’t have our usual winter testing and last year the track conditions were different from the ones we usually have in May. I'm really intrigued about what the RB16B can do there. Last year this was the first race I drove after I had covid and I had a good result, so yes, it is a track I enjoy driving."

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner is satisfied with how his new signing has been performing so far, despite some difficult moments, as he told RaceFans.net after the Portuguese GP.

“Here’s been really difficult because of the wind and so on. But you can see just the races are coming together for him. When he was in clean air he managed to pass Norris – who passed him fully off the track, again another track limits inconsistency. Once he was in clean air, he was doing the same lap time as the leaders and at certain points was setting the fastest lap."

Horner believes that his adaptation phase is going alright and that he only needs more time to get the best out of his new car:

“So I think it’s really coming together for him. I’m happy with the progress he’s making and it’s only with more time and experience that everything just comes together for him.”