Perez's qualifying session at the Suzuka Circuit wasn't bad this time, as he made it into Q3 and secured the tenth position.
However, it wasn't particularly good either. According to the potential performance of HRT Racing Car, consistently ranking as the second or third fastest car in the paddock, the qualifying ceiling should be third, and the worst should be sixth, in line with the car's performance ranking.
One can only say that in his rookie season, Perez was merely a competent F1 driver, able to shed the label of a pay driver, but far from matching the prowess of those prodigious young drivers in the paddock.
The same car in the hands of Hamilton, Vettel, or even Kubica and Rosberg during their rookie seasons, would at least secure a Grand Prix victory—this is the realm of true genius in the F1 paddock!
