F1 News: Sergio Perez Offers Contrasting Verdict On Brazilian GP Despite Performance Struggles

Saajan Jogia | 3 Hours Ago

Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 30, 2023 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) / Red Bull Content Pool

Sergio Perez has contradicted himself about his Sao Paulo race weekend in Brazil, recently revealing that it was one of the "strongest weekends" in terms of pace, despite a "disastrous" race on Sunday that saw him finish 11th in the Grand Prix, nine seconds short of completing a minute behind his teammate Max Verstappen.

The Brazilian GP sprint race looked promising for Perez, as he qualified P13 for the 24-lap event and ultimately finished in the points with an eighth-place result. In the Grand Prix, he started from P12, only advancing one position in a difficult wet race. In stark contrast, Verstappen, despite starting P17 due to an engine penalty, charged through the field to win by over 19 seconds ahead of runner-up Esteban Ocon.

Perez blamed the botched race start for his problems after his team missed swapping tires. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll's AMR24 F1 car got stuck in the gravel during the formation lap after he slid off the track, collided against the wall, and became beached in the gravel. The incident forced a delay and reshuffling of the grid, pushing the race start from 12:30 to 12:47 local time.

As the mechanics prepared for the aborted start, drivers were allowed to change tires. Unfortunately for Perez, Red Bull chose to keep him on cold tires, leading him to spin out on the opening lap. Although the team recognized the mistake, it was too late to rectify the situation, leaving Perez with a compromised start to the race. Speaking on his ordeal at Interlagos, Perez 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."

However, reflecting on the race weekend at Interlagos, Perez changed his perspective, suggesting that there were several positives to take away from it. He said:

"There are some positives from the weekend, and obviously, Max's victory is very important for the team.

"Momentum-wise, it has been a very strong weekend in terms of pace, so there are plenty of positives from that.

"I think it was one of the strongest weekends in terms of pace. We put the car on the track, and straight away, we were very competitive in FP1. 

"It has been a much more competitive weekend, and so hopefully, the momentum gets back to us."

While the Mexican driver encountered significant challenges, he may have been referring to the car's improved pace, evident in Verstappen's performance, which had been missing in recent Grands Prix due to a balance issue with the RB20.