F1 News: Sergio Perez Defends Mexico Qualifying Disaster As Data Emerges

Saajan Jogia | Oct 27, 2024

Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) of Team Mexico speaks to the crowd during a fan forum before the Sprint Race in the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Red Bull's Sergio Perez faced another challenging Grand Prix weekend, qualifying a surprising P18 for his home race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. However, the 34-year-old driver revealed that data showed the braking issues with his RB20 F1 car were not his fault. Despite the struggles, Perez maintained that the technical problems hampering his performance were beyond his control.

Perez reiterated the difficulty in stopping the car during the Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying, an issue Red Bull has been grappling with over the past three races without resolution. This braking problem further compounds the Mexican driver’s struggles this season, following earlier balance issues with the RB20. The balance problem, which only came to light after his teammate Max Verstappen began experiencing similar symptoms, has significantly impacted Perez’s pace midway through the season.

Unfortunately, this was a race he wanted to finish with flying colors, which seems unlikely after a P18 start on Sunday. Speaking to the media and clarifying the setback was not his fault, Perez said:

“I just put too much energy into the tyres, and that makes it very, very tricky for me to stop the car."

When asked if the problem was unique to the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, he said:

“No, it’s been there the last three races where I cannot stop the car and having to modulate quite a lot my braking.

“And that’s something we can see in the data, but we are not able to fix it at the moment.

“It’s mainly on a straight line the issue that we are facing. On a straight line, I cannot stop the car. I just slide too much and given that it’s all surface sensitivity here, it makes it a lot harder.

“It’s obviously very disappointing. If there’s a grand prix that I want to do really well, it’s this one.

“And unfortunately, it’s been really difficult and tricky this event.”

Perez added that the braking problem would make his race even harder to execute swift overtakes in an attempt to make up positions. He said:

“It’s going to be hard, because it’s also present there in the long run.

“So I will try everything.

“I will try and see what we are able to do with the team and see what solutions we are able to find.”

Perez is once again facing intense pressure to secure his future with Red Bull, especially with Liam Lawson's impressive showing for VCARB in Austin fueling speculation that Lawson could be in line for a Red Bull seat in 2025. Following the missed opportunity at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to a crash with Carlos Sainz at a circuit that had been one of Perez's strongest, his home race now appears to be another missed chance to redeem himself and secure his Red Bull seat.