Perez and teammate Nico Hulkenberg were ninth and 10th in FP2, and the team was satisfied with that outcome at a track, which was not expected to be favourable.

“I think we've definitely made good progress,” said Perez. “I think the car definitely feels better.

"In the main areas where we needed the downforce, it came. Obviously we always want more but I think we've done a reasonable step, and I mean, to be inside the top 10 at this track means a lot to us. It's our weakest track.

“So, happy for today, although I had a very messy day with FP1, I lost a lot of time when I really needed to make progress with the car.

“There was some oil leaking, going into the floor, so we had to take the floor out. There was a problem with the radiator, so we had to change the radiator, and it took a while.”

Asked by Motorsport.com if the improvement could be felt more in faster or slower corners, Perez said: “It's pretty much everywhere. I think it's mainly medium- to low-speed, the traction has improved for us. I'm happy that we've done a reasonable step.

“I want to see how competitive we can be tomorrow in qualifying. Our degradation has improved as well. Obviously we're facing a very tough weekend in this circuit, and if we can get away with some points, it means that we have done a massive step forward.

“I think still that there is more potential to come from this upgrade once we put everything into place and we get a bit better balance.”