F1 News: Sergio Perez Insists Odd Qatar Pit Lane Start Was Intentional Ahead Of Red Bull Meeting

Sergio Perez has insisted that his slow pit lane start in the Qatar Sprint Race was intentional.

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu (24) of Team China and Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) of Team Mexico walk back to the paddock after the driver’s parade before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Sergio Perez's unconventionally slow pit lane start during the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint race has drawn significant attention, as the Red Bull Racing driver claimed he strategically delayed his departure.

Fans were bewildered during the Qatar Sprint Race as Sergio Perez, who started from the pit lane, waited for a moment before he got going even when the light turned green. Williams driver Franco Colapinto, who was starting behind the Mexican driver, ended up passing Perez in the pit lane - a position that Perez did not make back.

In an exclusive conversation with Viaplay, as quoted by GP Blog, Sergio Perez laid bare the reasoning behind this deliberate delay. He stated:

"The main objective of today was to get as much clear air as possible. And we were not in a hurry really to leave, because we wanted to have a lot of clear air as much as possible, to get a read on the car changes."

When asked if the decision to hold off before going despite the green light was deliberate, the Red Bull driver responded:

“Correct, yes. He was more in a hurry than us, and it was not the priority."

However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner did not seem to be aware of this strategy. He commented to the media after the race:

“I need to have a chat with him about it because it just looked like he was caught napping a little bit and obviously Colapinto got the jump on him.

“We managed to get some useful data from Checo in that race.

“We managed to change the nose as well so we got some good feedback that hopefully we can use for this afternoon.

“Basically, on a day that we weren’t going to score points with him, it was better to get as much knowledge as we could.

“So that’s what we’ve done, we’ve got some data now to look at between now and the next session, so hopefully we can make good use of it.”

2024 Qatar Sprint Race Results

1. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. George Russell, Mercedes
4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
8. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
9. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
10. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
11. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
12. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
14. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
15. Alex Albon, Williams
16. Liam Lawson, VCARB
17. Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB
18. Franco Colapinto, Williams
19. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
20. Sergio Perez, Red Bull