F1 News: Sergio Perez Reveals Injury After Hungarian Qualifying Crash

Alex Harrington | Jul 20, 2024

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) arrives in the paddock before the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

During the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session, Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez encountered an abrupt setback, crashing at Turn 8 during the first qualifying round. This incident, which occurred with just over six minutes left, confined Perez to a starting position of P16 for Sunday's race. Despite the setback and subsequent leg pain—which Perez assured would not hinder his racing capabilities—the seasoned driver remains steadfast, dismissing concerns about the mounting pressure following a series of underwhelming performances.

Perez described the crash as a consequence of increasingly harsh rain at the critical corner, leading to a loss of control after potentially clipping the curb. He also revealed the resulting injury from the hit.

“Yeah, it was quite an impact, luckily all good, bit of pain on the leg but other than that all good, but ready for the race.

"I lost it, I think I clipped the kerb and at that point, it was raining harder at Turn 8 so it was quite late in the corner and it just sent me off completely in the wall," Perez recounted.

In response to media scrutiny, the Mexican driver conveyed resilience and a clear focus on introspection and improvement.

"It’s something that was so hard to judge the conditions, it was raining harder but at the end you were not losing grip. I was improving my lap, so in hindsight when you look at it we were safe, we didn’t need to do that lap, but you also know a lot afterwards. It hurts, you know, that it happened again, especially in the run that I am going through, but yeah I’m determined to turn this around," he explained.

On the technical front, Red Bull is conducting internal assessments and tweaking strategies, particularly with the newly introduced updates at the Hungaroring. Despite not running the complete update package, Perez noted positive improvements during practices.

“I believe… yesterday we had a really good day, very promising day. I think we had very good information on the long runs so hopefully we can have some really good pace to come through the field and hopefully score some points,” he shared. “Like I said before nothing changes, I’m not worried. I’m fully determined to turn my season around and to focus on my performance.

“The feeling with the car is improving, the understanding with it as well, so we [are] definitely making progress. Yesterday was probably the best Friday of the season, so there is light at the end of the tunnel but we just have to come through it and hopefully tomorrow can be the day.

“I think we just need a clean weekend, clean conditions, not this variability, just get the most out of it, that’s the main thing.”

Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, has acknowledged the review of the team’s driver lineup as they prepare for the Summer break. Perez's performance today will likely come up in conversation.