Sergio Perez met with the stewards to clarify whether or not he had overstepped the track limits. The Mexican told his story, and based on the video footage and his statement, the stewards decided to impose a heavy punishment.
Sergio Perez met with the stewards to clarify whether or not he had overstepped the track limits. The Mexican driver told his story, and based on the video footage and his statement, the stewards decided to impose a heavy punishment.
In qualifying, it is common for a driver to lose time if he goes over the track limits, but in Perez's case it was only in Q3 that it was discovered that he had not fitted into the lines in the previous session.
Most drivers went off track in the final corner, but the Red Bull Racing driver did so in an unusual place. As a result, it came to light later.
The Mexican received a major penalty: because the attack happened in Q2, but the commissioners said they were too busy at the time, they decided not to look into it until after qualifying.
The Red Bull Racing driver therefore falls behind Lewis Hamilton and will probably be outside the top ten: based on the Q2 results, he will have to start the short qualifying race from 13th place.
"From the first free practice I didn't feel very good, so we needed some time to understand the car. Hopefully we will be better tomorrow," the Red Bull driver said after qualifying, before being punished.
"I couldn't get into a rhythm, so we still need to master things better. We have the short race tomorrow and the GP on Sunday, so we need to keep our heads up and give the maximum tomorrow and make some good progress to get the best possible position for the race on Sunday," concluded the Mexican.