Sergio Perez has explained the circumstances that led to his retirement from the Qatar Grand Prix, revealing a mistake under the second safety car intervention that ultimately forced him out of the race.
The Red Bull driver had shown an improved performance in qualifying, and after a strong start to the race, he was in a promising position. Perez had made a solid getaway and was running in the points for much of the Grand Prix. Although he couldn’t match the blistering pace of teammate Max Verstappen, the second safety car period seemed to offer Perez a chance to make up ground.
However, Perez lost control of his RB20 at the restart following the safety car, spinning off and ultimately retiring from the race. Reflecting on the incident, Perez said, “Things were looking good for me at the time, I was sitting in P5 and we were in the mix for the podium. Then, as I was warming up the tyres and getting ready for the restart, I had a massive over-delivery of power as I picked up the throttle out of turn 12.”
Perez continued, “With cold tyres, I couldn’t control it, which meant I lost the car and lost drive from that point onwards. It’s quite disappointing to end up like this. There were some positive signs from this weekend in terms of performance, and I believe we’ve learned a lot about the car and found good direction.”
The Mexican driver acknowledged the challenges of his season, which has been filled with ups and downs. He also pointed to the work that lies ahead for the Red Bull team to get their season back on track. “The season hasn’t been great for me, but we are all in this together as a team. We need to review a few things, and hopefully, Abu Dhabi will be the opportunity to finish the season on a strong note,” he added.
Perez’s retirement from the Qatar Grand Prix was a blow for his bid to improve his form at Red Bull as he looks to bounce back at the final race of the season.
Leave a Reply