F1 News: Sergio Perez Laments A Disastrous Sao Paulo Grand Prix After Red Bull Starting Error

Saajan Jogia | Nov 5, 2024

Jun 8, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (MEX) in the pit lane at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has criticized his team for fitting cold tires on his RB20 F1 car, resulting in a "disaster"-filled Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Finishing outside the points in P11, the race added to the mounting concerns regarding the Mexican driver's future with the Milton Keynes outfit.

In light of his performance slump this season, Red Bull is reportedly evaluating VCARB drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda as potential replacements for Perez alongside Max Verstappen. The noticeable performance gap between Perez and Verstappen has led Red Bull to lose its lead in the Constructors' Championship to McLaren following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After finishing 17th in Mexico, Perez faced another difficult race in Brazil, where he contended with a wet track and poor visibility. The race was marred by multiple retirements, including Lance Stroll, who was unable to start after his Aston Martin AMR24 got stuck in the gravel during the formation lap. The Canadian driver slid off the track, collided with the wall, and then ended up beached in the gravel, adding to the challenges he faced after an earlier crash in qualifying.

Noted as an abandoned start, the incident sparked a series of actions that led to a reshuffling of the grid. As a result, the race's start time was pushed back, delaying the originally planned race start from 12:30 local time to 12:47.

The mechanics then took to the grid for the aborted start procedure, during which drivers were permitted to change tires if they chose to do so. Sadly for Perez who started P12, Red Bull kept him on cold tires, which he claimed caused him to spin out in the first lap. Although the team realized its mistake, it was too late to change the tires. Speaking on his ordeal at Interlagos, the 34-year-old driver told the media: 

"It was a disaster because we didn't know at the time that we could change tyres until the very last minute - and there was no time to change them.

"We started the race with very cold tyres and then, as there was no one ahead of me, I went into a wall of water, so the start was a total disaster.

"We were making progress, but unfortunately, we pitted at the red flag, and then at the restart, the visibility was zero, but we were making some progress.

"We came all the way up to Liam [Lawson], and we touched a bit in Turn 1, and then I went straight at Turn 4 and lost the position to Lewis [Hamilton]. 

"It was a total disaster and nothing really worked."