In Canada, Sergio Perez experienced a weekend filled with nightmares.
Retiring from the Canadian Grand Prix after whacking the wall, Sergio Perez’s day went from bad to worse with news he has a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.
Perez’s aspirations to recover from his crash on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix were shattered on Saturday as the Red Bull driver was unable to advance beyond Q1.
Sergio Perez already on the back foot for Spain
Starting from the 16th position on a rain-soaked Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, his efforts to make a comeback and secure valuable points were foiled as he lost control and spun off during Lap 53, resulting in damage to the rear wing of his RB20.
After limping back to the pits, he decided to retire the car, thus ending his day.
Nevertheless, he was subsequently called upon by the stewards due to his act of returning to the pits with a damaged vehicle, thus violating Article 26.10 of F1’s Sporting Regulations. This particular article dictates that “in the event of major mechanical issues, the driver must promptly vacate the track when it becomes safe to do so.”
The stewards, having reviewed the video, team radio and in-car video evidence, handed Perez a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.
As a result of instructing the Mexican driver to return the car, Red Bull was also penalized with a fine of €25,000.
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The stewards’ verdict stated that the driver collided with the barriers in Turn 6, but still managed to complete the lap despite the car being severely damaged. During the journey back to the pits, several carbon fibre parts were lost.
During the hearing, the team verified that they had instructed the driver to return the car to the pits in order to prevent a Safety Car scenario.
“The stewards have concluded that, in addition to a monetary fine for the team, a sporting penalty is warranted based on the safety concerns arising from the incident. This penalty is consistent with previous precedents.”
Christian Horner admits it was a horrible weekend for Perez with Red Bull only getting away with it because of Ferrari’s failure to score a single point with their double DNF.
“The weekend was a disaster for Checo,” expressed the Red Bull team boss to Sky Sports F1. “Unfortunately, we incurred some damage, therefore he must regain his strength in Barcelona.”
Luckily, Ferrari had a terrible performance, resulting in them not earning any points. As a result, we were relieved of any pressure or responsibility.
However, it is crucial for us to have both cars achieving high scores. Although we managed to escape the consequences today, it is necessary for Checo to regain his previous position from Barcelona onwards, just as he was at the beginning of the year.
Checo consistently proves that whenever it seems like he’s in a difficult situation, he always manages to recover. He possesses a resilient spirit both on and off the track, which affects him more deeply than anyone else.
“He will be resolute in his efforts to return and showcase the exceptional form we are aware he possesses, which he demonstrated in the initial four races of this year.”
Perez is fifth in the Drivers’ Championship on 107 points, 92 behind his team-mate Max Verstappen.
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