Red Bull acknowledged that they wanted Sergio Perez to go back to the pits in a dangerous vehicle in order to prevent a safety car from spoiling Max Verstappen’s Montreal race, and as a result, Perez was given a penalty.
On lap 51 of the race, Perez lost control of his Red Bull, spun around, and collided into the barrier with the back of the vehicle. Although the engine was still going and he managed to continue moving, it seriously damaged the back wing.
But the damaged wing was dangling dangerously off the back of his car, endangering anyone who happened to come across it. Perez, however, hobbled back to the pits to retire the car rather than pulling over.
However, the stewards found that choice to be unimpressive. They fined Red Bull £21,000 and punished Perez a three-place grid drop for the upcoming event, the Spanish Grand Prix, believing the Mexican should have stopped in a safe spot sooner.
Red Bull provided an explanation of their side of the incident and stated that they desired Perez to go back to the pit lane in order to prevent a safety car. Bunching up the group would have made it more likely that teammate Verstappen, who was leading the race, would not have been able to maintain that position.
Perez “failed to leave the track with substantial mechanical difficulties after significantly injuring the rear wing,” the stewards concluded following their examination. They believed that to be a violation of F1 sporting regulations Article 26.10.
They recorded the following in an official judgement document: “The driver lost multiple carbon fibre parts on the way back to the pits after continuing on the track for the rest of the lap with a heavily damaged car after making contact with the barriers in turn six.
Sergio Perez suffered serious damage to his rear wing.
“The team stated during the hearing that they were attempting to prevent a safety car scenario and had directed the driver to return the vehicle to the pits. The stewards decide that because of the incident’s potential impact on safety, the team should also face a sporting punishment in addition to a financial one. According to previous rulings, the punishment is applied.”
Perez had a terrible weekend overall and was racing way outside the points even prior to his collision. After signing a new Red Bull deal earlier in the week, which elicited mixed reactions from fans—many of whom questioned whether there were better options available—it was not the outcome he needed or desired.
Perez apologised on social media for his subpar performance following the race. “I’m extremely sorry for my team, I let them down today,” the writer wrote. But without a doubt, we will return. There’s still a great distance to go.
