Sergio Perez is pursued by George Russell as they navigate the Miami circuit.
Sergio Perez came within a scrape and a whack of putting Max Verstappen out of the Miami Grand Prix on the opening lap, Christijan Albers putting his antics down to his “frustrating” qualifying.
Verstappen secured the pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, while Perez found himself in fourth place, with the two Ferraris leading the way.
‘Of course he is already frustrated that Verstappen is at the front’
Perez’s start to the Grand Prix was both fast and overly enthusiastic, possibly fueled by the Scuderia’s determination to challenge his teammate or his own ambition to join Verstappen at the front of the field.
The Mexican driver, racing closely behind his team-mate’s RB20, went past his braking point and ended up overshooting both his team-mate and the rear of the car.
Luckily for Red Bull, it was nothing more than a “scratch” on Verstappen’s diffuser in what could have easily been a two-car retirement.
Albers attributed that event to Perez’s annoyance over his qualifying gap to Verstappen as a former F1 driver.
“What disappointed me with Perez were a few things,” he said in De Telegraaf podcast. “Everyone was going crazy about him braking at the start.
Naturally, he had the option to eliminate Max and even bring down both Ferraris. However, he made a mistake, but that’s simply part of the racing world.
“You aim to begin with the best possible start.”
Naturally, he is already feeling frustrated with Verstappen being in the lead while he starts in fourth position. Consequently, he realizes, “I need to establish a bond with Max, or else I will fail to catch up with him.”
“So, he will exert excessive force on the brakes, missing the appropriate braking point by forty or fifty meters. Fortunately, he escapes the potential risk of colliding with Max or the two Ferraris.”
Sergio Perez’s deficit to Max Verstappen laid bare
F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates
F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Perez’s lap 1 antics were not only catching the attention of Verstappen, but also other drivers.
“According to Albers, both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris encountered issues, which was unfair to Norris as well. Albers mentioned that Norris had to fall back due to the necessity of avoiding certain obstacles.”
During the Grand Prix, there was an interruption caused by Kevin Magnussen accidentally pushing Logan Sargeant into the barriers. This incident gave Lando Norris an opportunity to make a pit stop without any cost, enabling him to exit the pit lane in first position ahead of Verstappen.
Verstappen made an attacking move into Turn 1 as the Dutchman lined up behind the Safety Car, but unfortunately, he couldn’t successfully overtake.
Norris rushed ahead and secured victory in the race, finishing seven seconds ahead of Verstappen. Leclerc claimed the third spot. Perez, similar to Hamilton, chose to restart on medium Pirelli tires, and finished fourth, while the Mercedes driver settled for sixth place.
Albers expressed his anticipation for the two men, Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton, who were in the top ten on mediums after the Safety Car.
The medium tyres initially provided a significant speed advantage, but Perez eventually struggled to maintain the same pace. Additionally, he had Hamilton trailing closely behind and was unable to overtake him. However, Perez managed to stay in contention due to the assistance of DRS.
It’s a shame that you miss out on Perez’s performance, as you only witness Hamilton’s impressive performance.
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