Perez told Ricciardo he needed a Red Bull to make turn one pass work

2019 Mexican Grand Prix

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Sergio Perez told Daniel Ricciardo he needed a Red Bull to make his unsuccessful passing attempt at turn one work.

Ricciardo ran wide when he tried to overtake Perez for seventh place on lap 62. The Renault driver, who joined the team from Red Bull last year, launched his attack on the hard-tyred Racing Point after switching to mediums for his final stint.

“I knew he was very strong on the [medium] so he came very close with a big tyre delta,” said Perez after the race.

Perez said he knew keeping Ricciardo behind “was going to be very hard – I tried to save a bit of tyre towards the end and I think that helped me.”

When Ricciardo made his bid to pass, Perez realised his rival wouldn’t be able to slow in time for the corner. “I knew he was gone,” he said.

“I told him after the race that he doesn’t have that Red Bull anymore to do that kind of manoeuvre. He was quite on the limit, but I braked quite late. It was good that I gave him some room so we avoided contact.”

Ricciardo admitted his passing attempt had been an “optimistic” effort.

“I tried one lap, obviously I locked up and missed the opportunity,” said the Renault driver. “In the end, when I think about it anyway, I came from quite far back and he was already pretty good on the braking. So it was optimistic but I’m a bit frustrated not to get him.”

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27 comments on “Perez told Ricciardo he needed a Red Bull to make turn one pass work”

  1. I wonder if he used the brake balance and engine braking-figures he received from Nico Rosberg back in May for that attempt, LOL.

    1. Indeed if he only had auto brake biased realtime control. Basically ABS that move might have worked.

  2. I’m surprised Perez didn’t have harsher words, that was a dangerous move by Ricciardo he just completely overshot the corner

    1. Why should he? Ricciardo already make a name for himself as the master of lunging from far away to overtake except that he consistently doing it in safe manner, you can count in one hand where his lunge ends up in collision. He had proven himself as a clean overtaker unlike some other drivers that have more contact or dangerous driving on their overtake attempt.

      1. I rate Ricciardo rather highly as a driver, but never got on board with doling out the “last of the late brakers” accolade. He only got that moniker while driving a Red Bull chock full of downforce & grip. I’ve said it a couple times before & I’ll say it again: he was never rated that highly on braking prowess while @ Toro Rosso & I predicted late last year that as soon as he vacated the Red Bull seat, the late braking lunges that Daniel became somewhat famous for would soon be few & far between. So far I’ve been proven right.

        1. I think you overrated Red Bull chassis and underrated Ricciardo braking ability while the truth is both the chassis and the driver need to work together. It’s true that Ricciardo can’t do his lunge as consistent without the Red Bull chassis, but other driver in the Red Bull also couldn’t made those kind of move as good as Danny could. However the fact remains that all Ricciardo lunges is at the very least calculated and if anything goes wrong, it mostly only affects Ricciardo himself like what we saw in Mexico. So there’s no reason for other driver to speak harshly about his lunges.

          1. @sonicslv, yeah, have to agree with that. Also, Renault clearly made a mistake with pitting Ricciardo at that time, should have been a lap or two earlier, or onto softs rather than mediums, and he’d have had more pace/time to do it, and might even have come out ahead of Perez (if I recall correctly).

          2. but other driver in the Red Bull also couldn’t made those kind of move as good as Danny could.

            Albon is doing nicely and VER is even better at it.
            So.. nothing special i am afraid.
            But RIC did very good in the RB

      2. @sonicslv

        True, but not all of his overtakes are dive bombs. I noticed that in his dive bombs the other driver just yields and doesn’t risk a collision.
        It’s just that this specific one was a really outlandish attempt

      3. He often only gets away with these moves because drivers allow him to lunge his way through. The move on Bottas in Italy 2016 (or 2015) was “incredible” for many, but if bottas didn’t suddenly give him space (which he didn’t need to) it would have gone badly wrong.

        His moves oven look great, but i think he relies on other drivers allowing him a bit too often. they will sometimes go wrong, especially now he is in a car with less grip.

  3. Was thinking the exact same thing when I saw him lock up on that attempt. Poor guy. Hope Renault turns up the wick but honestly can’t see that happening within Ricciardo’s remaining career. What a choice he’s made.

    1. It was kinda obvious, I’ve been against ricciardo leaving red bull since the start.

      Having said this might be an alonso type situation, leaving ferrari\red bull because of not being able to win titles to go drive in the midfield, it’s not like red bull convinced me overall this year.

  4. I don’t like Perez. At all. However, he makes a fair point here. As soon as I saw Daniel lunge I thought to myself “there’s no way he’s making that corner”. Definitely seems as if frustration got the better of Daniel there.

    1. And what do you not like about Perez?

      1. He’s a selfish brat. Granted, most racing drivers are at least a little bit selfish; but Perez is on another horrible level. Back in 2017 he was so rattled by Ocon that he deliberately tried to sabotage him whenever he could. Sergio realized Esteban was the faster driver earlier on, and feared this being demonstrated in the points standings, at the seasons end. So he started pushing Ocon off track, into walls, and deliberately holding him up even when he was much quicker (think Canada 2017), whenever he could. In short, Sergio Perez is the nastiest piece of work the Formula One paddock has seen in a long time. Mexico deserves so much better than him, so it’s a shame.

        1. Nice comparison … selfishness of Perez v Ocon … In his short career in F1 Ocon had issues with Perez, Gasly and Verstappen. Perez has not had any issues other than with Ocon. And … you forget that Ocon put Perez against the wall in Azerbaijan 2017 where both drivers could be on the podium. The truth remains that Ocon could not match Perez in points in two years and by a fair margin. If you don’t like Perez, it is your choice but Perez beat Ocon in points and race pace which is at the end of the day what matters. I hope Ocon gets a bit quicker in races next year and stops crashing into others.

        2. …lol, …ok ok, I will consider that you are new to the sport, I explain;
          At the end of the race DR said that at all times the fight was fair and showed his respect to SP.
          “He is a selfish brat”, SP is a guy married to two children, he has a foundation where part of his time and money will help children in less favorable conditions, the foundation formed in his first year in F1.
          The problems with EO, your appreciation is totally emotional, most of the incidents were caused by EO, every time he could cry, he did it to complain.
          “In summary, Sergio Pérez is the most unpleasant work than the Formula One paddock”, …never, in the entire permanence of SP in F1 I have heard a complaint or a bad comment about SP, on the contrary, members of other teams, TV commentators, your fellow drivers, I have never heard a bad comment about SP.
          Your position is ignorant and in bad taste …without arguments, totally emotional.

  5. In the post-race interviews, DR and SP came across as buddies with some obvious respect between them.
    Nice to see. Clearly, there were no hard feelings following the race.
    This is the sort of competition that we tune in for. Like or dislike the drivers as you wish, but at this level it is great to see this degree of control.

    1. I agree

  6. I’d go even further, I thought he had lost his brakes! the black smoke coming off his front brakes at such a vast speed, i really thought he had lost it completely.

    Wise old fox Perez realized soon enough. The guy will never win a race without a car under him but he’s probably the best midfield driver ever.

    1. Yes, he is indeed, he really would deserve a shot at a top car.

    2. The guy will never win a race without a car under him

      Well.. surprise..

  7. At least he tried and didn’t stay behind him the whole race doing nothing

    1. @carlosmedrano

      Exactly – he gave it a shot, and the way he attempted to pass meant that if it didn’t work he wouldn’t damage Perez’s car. Good racing all round, even though the pass didn’t come off in the end.

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