Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has reflected on another up and down weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix with him qualifying eighth and finishing fifth in Catalonia.

Perez has shown some decent race pace so far this season in Formula 1, but has struggled at times to really get on top of things and string together a good performance over a whole weekend.

Indeed, in Bahrain, Portugal and Spain he was out of position after Saturday and needed to put in a recovery drive - something he largely did - whilst in Imola he qualified well, but ended up spinning in the race and finishing outside of the points.

Clearly, he's still learning the ropes with his new team, but after Mercedes once again trumped Red Bull strategy-wise at the weekend, there were renewed comments that the team really needs two drivers right at the front from the off in a race to take the fight to the Mercs - something Perez ultimately needs to be doing this season.

He'll be looking for that extra level of consistency in the Grands Prix to come, then, and he hopes that things will keep progressing, though, he admits shortened practice sessions on a Friday have hampered him a bit as it's limiting his time at the wheel of the Red Bull.

"It’s important to keep making those steps and put the whole weekend together,” Perez said. “It just takes me a bit too long to get up to speed when we go to a new circuit.

“You see that things are coming, but not together. But I think once we are able to put them together we have the pace to be able to go pretty quick.

“I’m getting more confident with the car, obviously. Every time I get to the end of the week I’m like, I wish the weekend just start now because. Given how limited track time is it is very hard to get up to speed.”

There is certainly more hope with Perez that he'll get up near where he needs to be more regularly than Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly did during their tough spells at Red Bull, and the Mexican obviously recognises what he needs to do to achieve that.

There's no doubting that he's a quality driver, too, so let's hope the Monaco Grand Prix is one where he really knits the whole weekend together.