Sergio Perez conceded his mistake but adds conditions were really poor in F1 Belgian GP, as he and Christian Horner praises Red Bull’s efforts.
This past weekend at Spa-Francorchamps has been one of the most exciting non-race race weekends. With the Belgian GP officially becoming the shortest race in F1 history, dethroning the Australian GP in 1991. More importantly, being one of the only six races to award half points.
Gaining from this was Williams driver George Russel securing his first podium ever in F1, and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who was able to win Spa and reduce the gap to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. However, it was not all good news for Red Bull on Sunday.
Perez crashed his RB16B at Turn 6 on his way to the grid. Though ruled allowed to race by the FIA later on, the Mexican would start from the pit lane. With the cancellation of the race after 2 laps under the safety car, the order the cars were in remained the same and were announced as the official results for the Belgian GP
Perez being P19 meant that no points were given, to him or to Red Bull, who were trying to catch up to Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. The weather on Sunday was horrendous, with many describing it as “dangerous” and unsafe conditions for driving.
No grip, visibility issues, and aquaplaning was the unfortunate demise for Perez during his out-lap, which ultimately set him back in the grid; and out of the points that he was previously in after qualifying P7 on Saturday. Though disappointed by this mistake, the Mexican went on to explain that this was a mistake that could have happened to anyone on the grid, not one unique to him alone.
“The conditions were extremely hard and with these wet tyres things are very very tricky very slippery so it was my mistake but it could have well happened to anyone out there,” stated Perez to TV media. Along with the frustration, however, the Mexican was also impressed with how his side of the garage responded to Michael Masi’s, FIA F1 Race Director and Safety Delegate, decision to let the Mexican race.
“My mistake was very costly, so in the end, we lost a couple of points there with my crash but I have to say amazing job from my boys. They managed to turn the car around in couple of minutes and that was very impressive…it just shows the spirit that Red Bull Racing has and that’s very nice to see,” said Perez.
The frustration extended to team principal, Christian Horner, who explained the disappointment felt at the Red Bull Garage after initially hearing that Perez wouldn’t start. “It just showed how tricky conditions were out there,” he said. “He reported he couldn’t really see anything and, unfortunately, it just got away from him.
“It was incredible to see our mechanics in action under pressure once again, fixing his car in the time they did, giving him every opportunity to race should we have been able to get out from behind the Safety Car. It was a massive job as both sides of the suspension and the steering rack were damaged but it was very rewarding to see the teamwork with both sides of the garage working together to get it fixed,” summed up Horner.
The article was written by Selena Aburas
Here’s the video of Sergio Perez crash: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-belgian-grand-prix-drama-as-sergio-perez-crashes-out-on-way-to-grid.1709431219004849207.html
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